


Falling Together

by momogsanders



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, F/M, HSAU, PREATH - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-14 10:11:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11780988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momogsanders/pseuds/momogsanders
Summary: My first fanfiction. Ever. Excuse me if it's terrible.Basically includes all my USWNT ships and favourite players :) It's gonna be a High School AU, and... just bare with me. I'm new at this.HOPE you like it.





	1. Chapter One: Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> high school au, preath, krashlyn, all le faves  
> find me on tumblr at @oh-no-momo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> high school's starting, things are getting serious, and tobin has to adapt to a new her, while christen battles a terrible unexpected crush... guess who

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. it's molly from @oh-no-momo (tumblr, duh). this is my first fic. subscribe and stuff, i guess... but only if u wanna.

**TOBIN**

Tobin had always been the confident type. She knew she was equal to all of her peers, and if they wanted trouble with her, that was their problem.

Now that she was starting high school, that confidence was slowly trickling away.

Tobin crept into her first class, history, books in hand and a little more than mere butterflies fluttering in her stomach. To say she was nervous would be the epitome of an understatement - she was a wreck. The only thing keeping her in that class was what her mother had said that morning: "You're gonna make friends."

Her mother also said she packed her an extra brownie, which was also a reassurance. Tobin found a seat at the corner of the U formation of tables as a few girls walked in, laughing with each other, causing Tobin's stomach to flip upside-down. She didn't know anyone in this class. The only people she did know in her year were Kelley and Allie, and they were both in another class. They had all come from the same primary school, but Tobin was worried they'd drift apart when they started seventh grade.

The classroom slowly filled up and the bell finally rang, and Tobin could find some distraction in what the teacher, Mr Parsons, was saying. "Alright. My name is Mr Parsons. I teach history as well as maths, and I know I've got some of you in my maths class. Anyway, this term's about World War II, which you'll find in your textbook on pages 186 to 238. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started."

Mr Parsons breezed through his lesson on the Treaty of Versailles and Tobin took her notes as quickly as she could, as Mr P tended to not give them very much time to write. 

When she wasn't scribbling down paragraph after paragraph of notes, Tobin took a few seconds to look at her classmates. The girls she knew the names of were Alex, Christen, Megan and Hope, and there were a few others whose names she didn't catch. She took notice of how Alex seemed to take few notes, and would be caught staring across the classroom at a boy whose name Tobin only knew started with an S. The other girls giggled and nudged her. Tobin could tell the boy was having a hard time focusing on the teacher too. Tobin smirked.

The class was over an hour later, and Tobin was glad for it. She walked quickly to her locker, dumping her books and taking out her brownie. She did have her mind on joining the soccer team, but could never pass up one of Mama Heath's chocolate brownies.

"Hey, Tobes!" a voice cried from behind her. Tobin turned to see Kelley O'Hara jogging towards her from down the hall, followed by a disgruntled Allie Long.

Tobin hugged her friends and they sat at one of the tables outside, shielded from the sun by an umbrella. Allie told them about her trip back to New York, where she was born. Kelley struggled to keep her brown hair out her face as she ate a peanut butter cup.

"So, Allie, is that guy in your class? You know... what's his name... Jose?" Tobin teased. Allie's cheeks went red.

"Actually, he is, Harry," she replied, regaining her composure. She plucked a grape from the stem in her hand and said, "Think fast, Kell!"

Kelley never failed at this, and caught the grape in her mouth when Allie tossed it at her. Tobin and Allie clapped and Kelley took a playful bow.

* * * 

"Hey, Tobin, right?"

Tobin turned to the girl who pulled out the seat next to her. It was Christen, she recalled, the dark-haired girl who she had history with. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Uh - no, it's fine," Tobin answered, waving her hand awkwardly. Christen sat, opening her science book. Tobin noticed that it had been drawn on already, despite it being their first ever science class. 

"I'm tired." Christen folded her arms on of her book and rested her chin on top.

"It's only the second day," Tobin said.

"Feels like a whole term," Christen huffed, sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Tobin took into account that she was staring, and looked away, stifling a self-teasing smirk. She had been pushing down that idea for a year already, though, the idea that it might be girls rather than boys that she took a liking to, and it was becoming clear that it wasn't just an idea.

Just then, their teacher strode in, carrying a multitude of books. _She looks like a grump_ , Tobin thought as the teacher set her things down and said, "My name is Ms Ellis. I'll be your chemistry teacher this term. Flip to page 17, please."

Tobin did so, not failing to notice the pair of eyes on her. She turned to Christen, and the girl snapped upright and opened her textbook. "What page -"

"Christen, isn't it? Please stop talking," Ms Ellis ordered from her desk. She stared at Tobin and Christen from beneath her glasses, and then looked back down at her own book. "Read pages 17 and 18 and answer the questions, please."

"Jesus..." Christen mumbled moodily.

Ms Ellis's chemistry class didn't much vary from that - people being told off for talking while doing questions from the book, Ellis not even bothering to so much as write down a single chemical equation on the board. In the middle of the class, a note slid onto Tobin's page, and she opened it carefully. In neat handwriting, it read, _Hey_ with a little smiley face. Tobin looked at Christen, who smiled. Her smile was so - _No, Tobin, stop that._

Tobin scrawled _Hello_ under Christen's writing and slid it back to the other girl. She guessed she should've written something else, but she didn't need to.

_my name's Christen. nice to meet you_

Tobin grinned - Christen seemed fun.

_Tobin Heath at your service_

_i like your name. Tobin._

Tobin just had time to read Christen's last note before the bell rang. Tobin mustered the courage to ask, "Are you in Mr Dames's English class?"

Christen frowned. "I don't think so."

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah," Christen said, smiling. "Later, Tobin Heath."

Tobin waved as Christen went in the opposite direction down the hall.

"Tobiiiiin," came a loud voice from beside her. "Christen Press. What a catch."

Kelley was undoubtedly going to try and get them together because Tobin just _had_ to watch Christen leave and Kelley O'Hara just _had_ to see her do it.

"Kelley, no," Tobin groaned.

"Kelley, yes."

* * *

Tobin took her sneakers off by the stairs and padded up to her room, flopping down on her bed. She opened Instragram and scrolled for a few minutes before a DM from Kelley - who else? - popped up at the top of her screen. Tobin opened the group chat to see Kelley had sent a profile - that of none other than @christenpress.

_tobinheath: kell, why_  
_kelleyohara: because, tobe, i saw those hearteyes_  
_allie_long_: What's this_  
_kelleyohara: tobe's got a lil crush_  
_tobinheath: kelley thinks i like christen press_  
_tobinheath: HEY KELLEY NO_  
_allie_long_: Niiiiice Kell_  
_tobinheath: harry noooo_  
_tobinheath: besides it's only the first term of high school_

Tobin tapped on the link to Christen's Instragram profile. Her profile picture was of a couple of dogs on a beach, the sun setting over the sea. Tobin scrolled through a bit and found herself looking at posts from months ago, before realising she was being a creepy stalker and stopping. She tapped _Follow_ and went back onto the group chat.

_meghankling: haha hey who's Christen?_  
_tobinheath: nobody :))))_  
_kelleyohara: bullshit, tobe_  
_kelleyohara: christen is a really hot girl tobin's got her eye on_  
_meghankling: ooooh_  
_meghankling: wait tobin you're gay?_

Tobin wasn't worried about her primary school friends finding out. She was comfortable enough with them, and besides, they most likely already knew. But Tobin hesitated...

_tobinheath: i think maybe yes_  
_meghankling: I KNEW IT_  
_kelleyohara: FUUUUKC YEAH I TOLD YOU_  
_allie_long_: Kling did you really need to ask??? Jfc_  
_ashlynharris24: woah tobes_  
_kelleyohara: aye tobey now we can talk about girls together ;)_  
_tobinheath: stfu i hate u guys XD_

Tobin accepted defeat and went back to scrolling through her feed until another notification popped up. Christen had requested to follow her back. Tobin, unashamed, tapped _Confirm_ straight away.

* * *

**CHRISTEN**

Tobin Heath had followed her. She had followed Tobin Heath back.

This was all too much for Christen. She was almost head-over-heels and it was only the second day of high school. What was she thinking?

Christen decided to take her mind off of it by looking at the school's co-curricular activities. Dance, Choir, Band, Maths Help... Soccer Club.

 _Christen, why soccer?_ Christen asked herself. She had only been a fan for a few weeks. Her parents would probably think she was out of her mind - this was not a Christen Press thing. And maybe it was just her gayness that drew her to women's soccer. Either way, she was going to join the soccer club.

Christen turned her stereo off, got changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and rounded up Morena and Khaleesi for a walk. Stepping out the door, she locked it and lead the dogs to the park down the road from her house. She took them around the pitch, where a few younger kids kicked footballs. Christen felt late to the party - she was never a sporty person, but lately she could be seen begging her mom to buy her a soccer ball and pump when they went shopping, or watching the NWSL games on her laptop.

"Chris?" Christen heard from behind her. She turned to see Servando, the boy Alex liked, standing there sweating in gym shorts and a tank top.

"Hey, Servando," Christen greeted shyly.

"So, uh," he began, scratching his neck awkwardly. "You know Alex, right? Can you, like... would you mind asking her out for me?"

Christen chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Alex has been wanting you to do that since last year."

"Wh - really?"

"Yeah, haven't you noticed?" Christen hit Servando's shoulder lightly. "You can do it. She'll say yes."

"Oh - well - okay," he answered, laughing exasperatedly. "Well, thanks, Christen."

Christen said goodbye and continued her way around the pitch, throwing a tennis ball for the dogs occasionally. Then she stopped.

Was that... was that Tobin Heath headed to the gym machines on the other side of the pitch?

Christen sped up her walking, to no prevail. Tobin spotted her, but she only waved, which Christen was glad for. She wasn't prepared to talk to Tobin. Christen waved back and ushered her dogs along the path back to her house. She let out a relieved sigh when she got through the door.

She had never seen Tobin there before. _Did she move here? How close does she live to Christen? Will Christen have to mentally prepare herself for possible conversation whenever she goes to the park?_

Christen realised that in the long run this was a good thing. She also remembered that she had known Tobin less than two days and she needed to calm down.

* * *

"Chris," Alex wondered, "you look like one of your dogs died. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Christen laughed suspiciously.

"Yeah," Hope piped up, unlocking her locker beside Alex's. "You've been all funny the past week."

"Well... maybe I have a tiny crush," Christen muttered.

"What was that?! Christen Press finally has a crush?" Alex said a little too loudly.

"It's only the second week, Alex, chill," Hope reasoned. "It's not like Chrissy's head-over-heels for this guy."

Christen blushed. Hope may have been wrong on two fronts there. Two of Christen's best friends didn't know she liked girls at all, and Christen felt guilty for not telling them, but she couldn't find the confidence and time to do it.

"Hey, where's Pinoe?" Alex inquired, closing her locker.

"I don't know. I saw her talking to Sarah Walsh when I got here," Hope said, "but I don't know where she went."

Christen laughed quietly. She knew what Pinoe was probably doing.

* * *

"Hey, Christen," Tobin Heath said, sitting next to Christen and her friends.

"Hey Tobin," Christen replied, smiling. The bell rang as Mr Parsons entered, carrying his usual assortment of books.

"Hey guys," he said. When he started writing the lesson plan on the board, The door burst open and Megan Rapinoe walked in. She crossed the classroom and took a seat next to Hope, at the end of the tables.

"Where were you?" Alex asked, leaning forward to address Pinoe from the other side of Hope.

"Couldn't unlock my locker," Pinoe said, laughing nervously. The others didn't suspect a thing, but Christen locked eyes with her and smirked.

"So, I'm going to put you into partners. The task is to match the definitions to the words," Mr Parsons instructed, and everyone got excited. " _I'm_ choosing the partners today, guys."

The class collectively groaned. "I know, I know. Right, then. Servando with Cristian; Jeff with Danny; Jose with Sebastian..." Mr Parsons went down a list he had made. "...Megan with Tommy; Tobin with Alex; Hope with Lamar; Christen with Julie..."

Christen looked to her partner, who sat at the opposite corner of the U formation. Julie smiled kindly at Christen, and Christen gingerly made her way over. "Hi," Christen said, holding a hand out for Julie to shake. "Christen."

Julie shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Christen said, sitting down next to Julie. "Okay, so..."

* * *

"...and then I -" The bell rang as Christen was telling Julie about the time she got nipped by a crab on the beach in Palos Verdes on the last summer holidays. She gathered her equipment and opened her diary.

"What do you have next?" Julie asked, pushing in her chair.

"PE with Mr Sermanni."

"Ah, lucky, you've got Mr S. Well, see ya." Julie headed to her next class, and Christen went to her locker to get her gym clothes. She wished they were playing soccer, but it was hockey this term. She also had no friends on her team, and hadn't played hockey before this year. High school had made her feel like a beginner at everything.

"Christen!" Alex shouted as Christen got to the changerooms.

"Hey," Christen replied, removing her school shoes. She stepped into a cubicle to get changed, despite it only being she, Alex and Pinoe in the room.

She finished getting changed and waited for the other two, who took ages touching up their lip gloss and deciding whether to wear shorts or leggings. Alex took particular care because Servando happened to be in their class this period. Christen thought, _How can someone be so... heterosexual?_

They finally made their way into the gym, a massive concrete building with newly-painted lines on the floor and goals set up on either end. The teacher, Mr Sermanni, waited for the class to sit on the benches at the edge of the court. "It's too wet outside, so we'll have to make do in here for the time being. Get into your teams. Uh... Alex's team, take the sashes."

Christen and her team - consisting of Servando, Cristian, Allie, Heather and a few other people Christen couldn't remember the names of just yet - walked onto the pitch and got into position, Christen taking the Inside Forward. She had always liked being a goal scorer whenever playing team games. It came naturally to her, and she couldn't help but love the pride that came with hitting the back of a net.

The whistle blew and they started. Christen scored two of the three goals her team got, the other being from Cristian. Their team won by two points.

Afterwards, when they were walking back to the changerooms, Alex was pulled aside by none other than Servando Carrasco. Servando nervously spoke to Alex for a few seconds, Alex said something back, and Christen's little shipper heart fluttered. When Alex came back, she said, "Servando asked me out!"

"Oooooooh Morgannn!" chimed Pinoe. "You said yes, right?"

"Duh," Alex replied, "but what am I gonna do? I've never gone on a date in my life!"

* * *

A week had passed since the Monday Alex had been asked out. In that time, Christen, Hope and Pinoe had coached Alex as best as they could (with their lack of knowledge, it wasn't very easy) and she had gone to the movies with Servando _and_ he had kissed her on the cheek afterwards. Alex couldn't stop talking about him all week after that, and was a mess every time she saw him.

As for Christen, Tobin had spoken to her every science and history class, and they had become friends. Now, it being Monday again, Christen walked into history with a smile growing on her face. She sat next to Tobin at the end of the U.

"Hey Christen," Tobin greeted, flashing a brilliant grin at her.

"Hi," Christen said. "Did you do the homework?"

Tobin bowed her head guiltily. "Nope."

"Wow. You're gonna fail history, you know, if you don't start doing homework," Christen pointed out.

"I don't believe in homework," Tobin said. "Schoolwork is _schoolwork."_

"True," Christen reasoned.

"Hey Chris," came Hope from next to her. Hope sat down and opened her book. "Oh, hey Tobin."

"Hi, Hope," Tobin replied with a small wave. Then she brought out a crumpled piece of paper. Christen watched as she wrote something and handed it to her.

_do you wanna hang out after school?_

Christen blushed. _Christen, calm down, it's not a date,_ she thought.

She answered Tobin with a _sure_.

_i'll come to your locker_

_okay_

They sat in silence for the remainder of the class as Mr P told them with wild enthusiasm about Operation Barbarossa. Christen rushed taking her notes but missed a lot, distracted by the girl next to her. Tobin's brown eyes glittered playfully. She reminded Christen of when Morena and Khaleesi were puppies, jumping on every piece of furniture and making a mess. Tobin looked like she could cause chaos but in the most exhilarating way.

* * *

**TOBIN**

Christen Press was certainly something. She was such fun, but such a teacher's pet. She was so happy, but focused on her schoolwork like it was life-or-death. So unrestrained yet so organised.

Tobin observed this on their outing. They had gotten on the train and headed for the city, and now Tobin led Christen through bustling crowds of street vendors and commuters and homeless people, the latter all receiving a donation from Christen. They kept walking along the street until they came to a carpark building, towering above them, the top few levels covered in graffiti and grime. This was their destination.

"This way," Tobin said, grabbing Christen's hand to pull her in the right direction. Tobin wished she could have held it longer. She pressed the button and waited to cross the road.

"So... as a warning, sometimes there are dodgy people up there but it should be fine," Tobin explained. "It's pretty cool though. The top two or three levels are abandoned. I used to go up here with my brother."

Christen looked at Tobin warily as they went into the elevator.

"Don't worry," Tobin assured her.

They exited the elevator and had to climb a staircase to the topmost layer of the carpark. Tobin wrenched the wooden gate open easily; its lock had been broken long ago and now the chain lay unrepaired by the entrance. They went up one more staircase until they reached a small open area completely covered in spraypaint save for the floor. Tobin watched as Christen looked out over the city.

"They couldn't use these levels 'cause they didn't make the ceilings high enough for cars to drive under," Tobin explained, sitting against the wall.

"Are we breaking the law?" Christen asked.

"Technically... yes." Tobin said. Tobin was afraid that would make Christen want to leave, but Christen showed no fear. She sat against the opposite wall of the little space, closing her eyes.

"Whatcha doing?" Tobin wondered chirpily.

"Meditating," Christen said. "My sister Tyler taught me how to do it."

"Oh," Tobin said. She had never been a relaxed person. She would probably be defined as the 'Crazy Friend' if Kelley O'Hara wasn't part of the equation. Tobin could be loud, but she noted that Christen was quiet and thoughtful. She wondered if the other girl had ever broken the law before.

Just then, the door from the staircase reopened. Two people stepped out into the sunlight, wearing dark blue uniforms, batons hanging from their belts. The police hardly ever came up here, but it looked like it was Tobin and Christen's lucky day.

* * *

"Tobin Powell Heath!"

Tobin winced at her mother's deadly tone. "You're grounded for a month!" was all her mother said, but it felt like a strike to the face. From just behind her mom, Tobin heard Christen's father say essentially the same thing.

Tobin wasn't worried about being grounded, even though a month was a long time. She was scared of the fact that she had screwed up massively. She had gotten Christen in trouble and now Christen probably hated her.

Tobin's mother's hand clamped around Tobin's wrist and she was dragged out of the police station. She sent Christen an apologetic expression as she went.

She got into the car and was silent as her mother drove them home. "Your father's not pleased, Tobin."

They arrived home nearing five o'clock. Tobin knew her mistake: Being thirteen means that you would look quite odd to two police officers if you went into a carpark without a driver. Plus, all the teens were thought of as delinquents in that part of town.

Tobin went straight to her room. She didn't eat dinner. It was only Monday, she remembered, and she had a class with Christen every day. How was she going to make it up to her?

Tobin looked at her phone. She had a load of texts from Kelley and Allie, as well as the usual nonsensical ones from the Instagram group chat. Then she got a new one: a DM from Christen.

Half of her didn't want to open it, but she did.

_christenpress: hey Tobin  
christenpress: i know you didn't mean to get us caught so don't worry about it okay?_

Tobin spent a minute figuring out her reply.

_tobinheath: im so sorry Christen_  
_tobinheath: i shouldnt have brought you up there_  
_christenpress: it was fun while it lasted_  
_christenpress: don't worry_

Tobin, unsure of what to say, left it at that. She opened the group chat and read the most recent ones.

_kelleyohara: GUYS TOBINS MISSING LMAO_  
_meghankling: wait what_  
_allie_long_: She disappeared after school_  
_kelleyohara: omg i know what shes doing_  
_allie_long_: Kelley chill she probably got held back in class_  
_allie_long_: She's got Mr Holly remember?_  
_kelleyohara: i doubt it but ok_  
_ashlynharris24: lol what_  
_meghankling: jfc kelley_  
_tobinheath: hey guys_  
_tobinheath: ok i was out with christen but it didnt go as planned_  
_tobinheath: we went to the abandoned carpark and got caught lmao_  
_kelleyohara: tobin istg your so bad at this_  
_allie_long_: *you're_  
_allie_long_: Besides, Kell, it's not like you can talk_

Tobin decided to turn in early even if it was only quarter past five. She put her phone on charge and turned off her lamp, regretfully thinking about Christen.

* * *

Happily it wasn't hard to regain the friendly manner Tobin and Christen had before that evening. What was a problem, though, was Ms Ellis and her lab partner arrangements which kept the two girls from talking in science class. Tobin savoured every time they spoke, so when Tobin was paired with Mia ("So, Tobin... that sounds like a guy's name. Where's it from?"), Tobin was rather miffed.

The last day of the term was nearing, and that meant the Christmas holidays were just around the corner. On the last day, Tobin was waiting impatiently with Allie in literature as the final minutes ticked away, Ms Harvey droning through a chapter of _To Kill A Mockingbird_. When the bell rang, the whole class let out a cheer.

"Tobin," Allie said, loud enough to be heard of the commotion of the hallways, "you coming to the party on New Year's?"

"Duh," Tobin answered, pulling her locker open. She couldn't wait to get out of there.

The raucous died down after a minute a Tobin finished putting her books in her bag. She knew she wouldn't get around to doing any of the holiday homework, but at least she tried, right?

Tobin, Allie and Kelley headed for the doors. On the way out, Tobin stopped. _Was that Christen?_

Tobin turned toward the office and saw Christen Press talking to the lady behind the counter. She couldn't see her face, but Tobin heard distress in Christen's voice. Tobin told the others to wait outside and approached Christen as she sat down outside the office.

"Christen?" Tobin said as gently as she could. Christen looked up and Tobin was taken aback by the sight of tears rolling down Christen's cheeks. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"My grandfather just died," Christen muttered, wiping her face with a sleeve. "Stroke."

Tobin sat next to her and rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'm sorry." Tobin was aware of how unthoughtful that sounded, but she didn't know what else to say. She had had family members die before, but they weren't close ones anyway.

Christen jumped at the dull sound of a car door closing outside. She looked out the window behind her. "That's my dad. You should probably go."

Tobin realised Christen's parents probably wouldn't want their daughter hanging around with Tobin since she had gotten her into trouble. "Okay," Tobin said, then adding, "Christen, you should come to Allie's New Year's party. I'm gonna message you the details."

Tobin stood as Christen said, "Uh, okay. Thanks, Tobin."

Tobin turned around at the door. "At your service."

* * *  
CHRISTMAS DAY

"Tobin, get the door!"

Tobin rushed down the carpeted stairs of her grandparents' house, almost slipping on the bottom step. She opened the door and greeted her uncle and aunt and their multitude of little kids and led them through to the kitchen, from which came the aroma of roast meats and vegetables and simmering gravy. Her parents and grandparents all crowded in the kitchen, trying to be of service. Tobin's grandmother tried to usher them out but they wouldn't listen, insisting that "You must need help with something!"

Tobin took people's bags of presents and deposited them under the tree. Then she slid back down the hallway and went back upstairs to where her siblings and older cousins sat in her brother's room. "Tobes, c'mere."

Her sister, Perry, waved her into the room and shut the door behind her. "We're playing Truth or Dare."

"Oh, no, please..." Tobin whined, heading for the door again.

"Tobiiiiin," they all complained, and she had to comply, sitting between Jeffrey and Katie.

Tobin usually chose Dare, but this lot would make her do something incredibly embarrassing in front of the rest of her family. When asked, she chose Truth, then realising what this could entail.

"Wow, okay," her brother said. "Hmm... if you have a crush, what does he look like?"

Tobin thought for a second. She was about to say she didn't have one. Then it occurred to her that that may not be true. Tobin considered her answer. "Black hair -"

"Oooooh, Tobin has a crush!" one of her cousins said.

"- kinda grey/green eyes..." Tobin trailed off. That was enough to leave her fellow players wondering. "My turn. Katie -"

"Dinner!" Tobin's mother declared, sticking her head around the door.

Tobin was glad for an excuse to escape this possibly dangerously-revealing game. Doubly relieved because it was time for food.

* * *

**CHRISTEN**

Christen stared at the portrait of her late grandfather. The fire in the hearth in front of her didn't do much to take away the feeling of dread she had about sitting through the family dinner without his warm conversation and smart jokes. It's like they were missing a whole piece of her family's worth. Tonight was going to be difficult.

Pulling her sweater's sleeves over her hands, Christen huddled in the armchair, watching the fire. She could hear her mother talking in the kitchen, smell their dinner cooking in the oven. Tyler sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, on her iPad.

"Dinner's ready, girls!" her father shouted from the other room. Christen stood, straightened her sweater, and went into the dining room where her family were seating themselves. Usually there were fourteen of them, but the seat at one end of the table was empty. Christen sat as far as she could from it.

Her father, Cody, stood with a glass in his hand and addressed the family. "In memory of my father, who made holidays even brighter."

The group toasted Christen's granddad and started their meal. Christen only ate half of hers, though, and picked at a piece of parsnip until her mother excused her. She went upstairs, shaking, gritting her teeth so hard her jaw hurt. It felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She started crying, made worse by the thought of how her grandfather wouldn't want her to cry for him. He would always tell her to smile more, relax, take it all in. Christen had taken it all in, and it was too much.

Christen curled up on her bed, trying to slow her breathing, clenching her hands. She wondered if this was a panic attack. Then, there was a knock at the door. "Chris?"

Christen closed her eyes tight without answering. She heard the door open softly. Tyler said, "Chris, you okay?"

Tyler came over to the bed and sat, rubbing Christen's back slowly. "Deep breaths. It's okay. Happy thoughts."

 _Deep breaths._ Christen inhaled slower, and let it out. _It's okay._ Christen reassured herself of this; her sister was here, she was safe, and her grandfather - he died happy as far as she knew. _Happy thoughts._ Christen thought about her friends. She thought about her sisters and her dogs. She thought about her friendship with the girl named Tobin Heath.

Eventually Christen was able to calm down. Tyler went back downstairs and returned with a hot chocolate, which Christen sat drinking in bed.

Christen's phone buzzed. She opened it to see an Instagram message - one from Tobin.

_tobinheath: merry CHRISTENmas!!!_  
_christenpress: you're terrible._  
_tobinheath: i try :P_

* * * 

**TOBIN**

NEW YEAR'S EVE

Tobin stood on the back deck of Allie Long's house. A cold evening breeze hit her face and neck, and she brought her mug up to her face. She had separated herself from the others - Allie, Kelley, Kling, Ashlyn and all their parents - taking a break from the commotion inside. She could hear Kelley dramatically retelling the story of how she was buried in the snow by it falling off a branch last Christmas, which she exaggerated a lot. Tobin knew because she had been there; it was only a few handfuls' worth of snow, but Kelley had been so spooked she ran and jumped on Tobin, almost burying _her_. 

"Tobin?" came a familiar voice from behind her. She turned to see Christen pulling the glass door closed and walking to stand next to Tobin. "It's so cold. What're you doing out here?"

"Nothing," Tobin smiled. She offered her hot chocolate to Christen, which the other girl took without much hesitation. "When did you get here?"

Christen licked hot chocolate off her lips after taking a sip. "Couple of minutes ago."

"Guys! The countdown's starting!" Ashlyn shouted from the door. The two walked inside, sitting on one of the sofas in front of the TV. Some famous person from their parents' time was leading the countdown, which they all chanted along to.

3... 2... 1...

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they screamed in unison. Tobin listened to the pop of distant fireworks outside. Everyone hugged everyone, and Christen, who looked a little surprised, was no exception. Tobin wrapped her arms around the other girl's shoulders.

"Who wants champagne OJ?" Allie's dad called.

All the girls yelled in affirmative but Christen. "Champagne orange juice?"

Tobin nodded. "It's great. Don't worry, it's only like a tablespoonful."

Christen thought for a second. She turned, smiled, and said, "Me too!"

Tobin nodded in approval. They sat down again, Ashlyn braiding Kelley's hair. The latter tried to object but was unsuccessful, getting a "You look so pretty with a braid!"

Allie switched on Netflix and all the adults went into the kitchen. "What are we watching?"

"PLL!"

"Riverdale!"

Tobin laughed at their ideas. She suggested, "Big Eden."

Christen gasped from next to her, grabbing her arm excitedly. "I love that movie!"

Allie had no choice but to put it on. Tobin was astonished that someone else had heard of _Big Eden._ Tobin sat back in the sofa with her OJ and enjoyed the movie, not even feeling awkward during the kissing scene. She grew tired as the morning progressed, but she was happy she got to spend it with her best friends once again.

* * *

Tobin woke with an aching back and a weight on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and yawned. She was about to stretch when she realised the weight on her shoulder was the head of a sleeping Christen Press. Apparently everyone had fallen asleep during the movie, because the TV flashed with the bright colours of a screensaver thing. Tobin yawned again and checked her phone - it was 6:48.

"Tobe," Kelley mumbled from by Tobin's feet. She sat up, and in the low light Tobin could see the outline of the other girl's scowling features. Kelley then smiled wryly, pointing at Christen and giving Tobin a thumbs-up. Tobin gave her the Finger jokingly, and Kelley put a hand to her chest in mocking outrage.

Kelley got up and tiptoed over the other girls' sleeping bodies. "I'm hungry."

"It's not even seven." Tobin knew this would do nothing to change Kelley's mind.

"C'mon, you know I can't cook by myself," Kelley pleaded. This was true - in their last cooking class, Kelley managed to mix up salt and sugar, burn the cake _and_ break the oven door.

Tobin lay Christen down as gently as she could on the sofa and crossed the living room into the kitchen, where Kelley was scavenging for pancake mix in the pantry. "Quieten down, Kell!" Tobin whispered.

She got out a packet of berries from the freezer, let them defrost and macerated them with some sugar while Kelley read the instructions scrupulously.

"You couldn't wait until I got up, at least?" Allie said as she shuffled into the kitchen, flattening her frizzy bed hair.

"No," Kelley declared. With the first pancake cooking, Allie set the table.

"Shit!" Allie said, followed by a crash. The other two girls peered over the counter to where Allie was setting the dining table. She had smashed a plate on the floor.

"Don't move, Harry," Tobin ordered, grabbing a dustpan and brush. She swept around the blonde's feet and inspected the floor for any stray pieces of porcelain. Then Kelley yelped - she had forgotten about the pancake and now it sat blackening and smoking in the pan.

"The hell's going on in here?" Ashlyn had woken up, and she was closely followed by Meghan, then Christen, whom upon entering caused Tobin to blush. She brought the sweetened berries and another plate to the table while Allie got out syrup and Nutella and put them on the table while the others sat down, Meghan and Ashlyn on one side and Christen on the other.

After about ten minutes they had enough pancakes to fill the whole group twice, and the rest of the girls sat around the table, Tobin taking the seat at the end nearest Christen - you know, because Christen didn't really know anyone else.

"Kell, slow down," Meghan cautioned, as Kelley was already halfway finished her first pancake.

"Yeah, Kelley, I thought you wanted to join the team," Tobin teased, receiving death eyes from Kelley.

Tobin practically drowned her pancake in maple syrup and topped it with fruit. "Is anyone else joining the team?"

Tobin looked up to see the hands of Allie, Kelley _and_ Christen raised. "Wow. Cool."

Tobin was growing anxious to join the soccer team, even though it was next year. She hadn't played soccer much since starting high school and she was more than ready to play again, especially with these people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey it's moi i just wanted to say i'd love u forever if u told me u liked my fic... idk maybe subscribe or gimme kudos... (can u see how desperate i am?)  
> thanku xo  
> ps i proofread this ONCE because i am an impatient asshole so excuse any mistakes.... pls :)  
> pps i'm sorry it's kinda short but it IS my first fic  
> pspspspsssppspsspp i lov u for reading it :)))))


	2. Chapter Two: Soccer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gals try out for soccer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me at @oh-no-momo on tumblr
> 
> ps this chapter is a bit longer than before so uh i hope u like it

**CHRISTEN**

Christen panted, waiting for the dogs to come back to where she had stopped on the path. She bent and placed her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Morena nuzzled her leg as Khaleesi borked happily at Christen's friend, who came up behind them dribbling a ball between her feet. Christen tossed some treats for the dogs and they eagerly went after them while she sat on a bench and looked up at the other girl. "Do you ever _not_ have a soccer ball with you? Outside of school, I mean?"

She chuckled, planting a foot on top of the ball to stop it. "Yeah. They don't let you kick 'em around in the supermarket."

Christen laughed. When she answered the door last Sunday, she didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't Tobin Heath juggling a bright blue ball on her front porch. Then this became a regular thing, and they had gone to the park almost every day since, enjoying the summer before school started again. They ran around the field a couple times and kicked the ball between them, the dogs occupied with sniffing around and urinating on all of the trees (and once on Tobin, when Khaleesi got a bit overexcited at the sight of the brunette).

It turned out Tobin lived a few blocks away from the park, but the one closer to her house was dodgy and didn't have a playing field, so she normally made the trip here each week to practice. When asked how she knew where Christen lived, Tobin just shrugged, smiled, and said, "I have my sources."

Christen looked to the centre of the field, where a few older players were in the middle of a game. She couldn't wait for Wednesday, which was the day of tryouts. At the same time, though, she wanted badly to continue these kick-abouts with her friend. "Can't believe we have school tomorrow," she grumbled.

"Yeah, but it's gonna be fun. New classes." Tobin retied her ponytail and nudged the ball toward Christen. The latter stood up, kicked the ball onto the grass at the edge of the field, and kicked it back to Tobin.

"Git off the field, stupid dog!" Christen and Tobin turned to see an elderly man in a tracksuit waving aggressively at Morena, who only barked and bounced playfully. Christen guessed the man was the referee, as a silver whistle hung around his non-existent neck.

"Morena! C'mere!" Tobin crouched and the dog came barrelling towards her, bowling her over and licking her face.

The man marched toward the girls. "Get outta here! Keep them dogs on a leash, you hear me?"

Christen faced him. "Sorry, sir -"

"It's a free park," Tobin interjected, standing up. Christen almost laughed; the girl held Morena in her arms like the dog was a baby. "See that sign over there, the one with 'off-leash' on it?"

The referee put his hands on his hips. "I've got half a mind to call -"

"We'll go, it's fine. Don't mind _her_ ," Christen said emphatically, leading Tobin away and Khaleesi following them back on the path. They walked back to the Press house, Christen getting them a packet of crackers, and a glass of water each. They sat at the kitchen counter when Stacy came in and said, "You're back fast. What happened?"

"Who said anything happened?" Tobin said innocently. Christen found it funny how Tobin was so comfortable around her family. Tobin could start a conversation with Tyler about soccer and they'd still be at it five minutes later if Christen didn't interrupt. It was especially strange since last year Christen thought Tobin had permanently damaged her parents' opinion of her after they were taken in by the police. But Tobin was just too good to be mad at.

Stacy looked at the girls doubtfully. "Fine," Christen huffed, "Morena got onto the field when there was a game going on. We got yelled at by the umpire."

"Ugh, you girls." Stacy went back into the living room.

Tobin laughed quietly, sipping her water. In the silence, Christen heard the dogs' claws clattering on the tiled floor as they walked around. Then Tobin said, "I can't believe you named your dog after a _Game of Thrones_ character."

"I can't believe you -" Christen began, but couldn't find a way to counter Tobin's mocking. "Well, Khaleesi isn't _a_ character. It's like the queen."

"You're such a nerd."

Christen smiled and downed the rest of her water, checking her phone.

_alexmorgan13: Chris_  
_alexmorgan13: Chris._  
_alexmorgan13: Chris!!!_

Christen sighed.

_christenpress: hi what_  
_alexmorgan13: I'm bored_  
_christenpress: i'm busy_  
_alexmorgan13: Doing what_  
_christenpress: tobin came over to practice_  
_alexmorgan13: Rude why wasn't i invited???_  
_christenpress: you're not trying out on wed_  
_alexmorgan13: who says?_

"Chris, I've gotta run, okay?" Tobin said, hopping down off the stool and grabbing a handful of biscuits.

"Ok, see ya," Christen said, smiling after the other girl. She heard the front door click shut and then turned back to her phone.

_alexmorgan13: I'll bet you five bucks i'll get into the team_  
_christenpress: hey sorry tobin just left_  
_christenpress: sure i'll take that bet_  
_christenpress: better get ur money ready._  
_alexmorgan13: Yeah, ready to be COUNTED after i win!_

* * *

"So, ladies!" Sermanni shouted to the twenty-or-so girls huddled together for warmth in the wind blowing across the pitch. Christen shifted in her boots, which were hand-me-downs from Tyler (as a lot of things were), and tugged on her slightly ill-fitting shinguards, which kept sliding down her calves.

"Chris, lemme tighten them," Alex offered, crouching behind her to adjust the guards. Christen tensed as Alex rolled down her socks, exposing her legs to the cold. It shouldn't be this cold - it was just after summer. Yet all the girls shivered, along with the coach.

Christen stood flanked by Tobin, Kelley and Allie on her right side, and Alex, Hope and Pinoe on her left. Apparently if Alex was going to be dragged into soccer tryouts, Hope and Pinoe were too.

"Since there are so few of you, only a few will be eliminated," Mr Sermanni said grimly. "But it's not gonna be a tough assessment. Every time a goal is scored, we'll switch around. Let's get started!"

The girls split up into teams, Christen, Tobin, Alex, Kelley, Pinoe, Allie and Hope one one side along with Sarah Gorden, Abby Wambach and Amy Rodriguez. Christen had only briefly spoken to these girls once or twice before, but they all seemed nice, plus Abby was already like five foot five, which would come in handy.

On the other team were a lot of girls Christen still didn't really know, some of whom looked slightly out of place. They still eyed Christen and her team with false confidence, though.

"Take your positions according to what you were assigned earlier," Sermanni said, "but you'll be moved around to try every spot, alright?" The girls moved into position on the field. "And..." TWEEEEEP! The whistle chirped over the rough winds. Christen observed from her spot on left midfield that the other team looked inexperienced, running straight for the ball rather than choosing their paths to it carefully. Tobin, playing as forward, megged the first girl and Christen ran up the field. Tobin was bombarded unprofessionally by the girls, but managed to slide the ball through to Christen who continued the ball until a pass opened up to Alex.

Christen watched in surprise as Alex took the ball up towards the box followed by all their amateur opponents. Tobin picked herself up and followed the play as Alex picked her way through until she got to the line, and then she hesitated. The other team were coming for her. She panicked, looking around for a pass. Christen came up the left side after her, calling out her name. Tobin was waving at her frantically from the other side. All too late.

Alex tried to get it to Tobin, but the other girls were upon her, violently swarming, trying to get the ball off her. Christen ran slightly closer to the girl in possession, a small quick brunette. She seemed to spot Christen and falter, but kept going. Christen followed, and then made her move as the girl was trying to get around Kelley in left centre mid. Christen interjected with her feet, eventually getting the ball and finding a pass to Kelley, who passed it to Megan in right centre mid, and then back to Tobin, who delivered it to the back of the net. Christen cheered as Tobin smoothed her stray hairs, smiling proudly. Christen laughed when she saw the other team's annoyance.

The coach came in. "Alright! Good play! Now we have Rapinoe in Goal..."

* * *

With a win of 4-1, Christen's team made its way back to the changerooms.

"Whew." Tobin sarcastically whiped the sweat from her forehead. "I _really_ thought we were gonna lose it there."

The group got changed and headed said goodbye to each other, heading their separate ways.

"Tobin, you want a lift?" Christen offered

"Oh, it's okay, I was just gonna walk..."

"C'mon, my mom'll insist when she sees you," Christen bargained. Tobin had to comply, and slung her backpack over her shoulder, her boots hanging from the strap. They walked to where Stacy waited in the silver Ford in the carpark.

"Hey girls," Stacy smiled as she started the car. "Tobin, you look absolutely pooped!"

"Moooooom," Christen complained, embarrassed.

Tobin laughed. "It was a tough one, Mrs Press."

"Tobin, I keep telling you to call me Stacy," Christen's mother said, pulling out of the carpark Christen looked at Tobin, who smiled awkwardly.

"How long have you played, then, Tobin?" Stacy asked, looking at the girls in the rear-view mirror.

"I started when I was four," Tobin told her, "and played since then. But I haven't played for ages since the start of high school."

"Christen's sister Tyler played soccer when she was younger. Quite a good player, she was."

"We're getting the results later today," Christen said. "Honestly, against those girls I would be surprised if _I_ didn't get in."

"Christen! Don't be rude!" Stacy exclaimed.

"It's true though, Mrs P - Stacy," Tobin corrected herself. "They were sh - really, really terrible. Doubt they'd ever even _touched_ a soccer ball."

Stacy sighed. "Well, okay." She drove up to the curb in front of Tobin's house and Tobin opened the car door. "Good luck, Tobin!"

"Thanks Mrs P!"

Christen watched, slightly disappointed, as the other girl made her way up to the door and rummaged in her bag for the key. Tobin turned and gave a final wave as Stacy continued down the road, which Christen returned with a smile.

* * *  
**TOBIN**

Tobin looked through the email thoroughly. The team had been decided, and the girls had received a long message about it a few hours after the tryout. They would train after school on Wednesdays, and interschool competition would start in two weeks. The coach encouraged them to buy their own equipment, which Tobin already had, and practice at home, which Tobin already did.

Tobin then got to the list of the fourteen players who made the cut:

_Alexandra Morgan, Forward_  
_Kelley O'Hara, Midfielder_  
_Becky Sauerbrunn, Defender_  
_Emily Menges, Defender_  
_Amy Rodriguez, Forward_  
_Tobin Heath, Midfielder_  
_Sydney Leroux, Forward_  
_Alexandra Long, Midfielder_  
_Christen Press, Forward_  
_Megan Rapinoe, Midfielder_  
_Sarah Gorden, Defender_  
_Abby Wambach, Goal_  
_Abby Dahlkemper, Defender_  
_Hope Solo, Goal_

Tobin smiled. She had gotten the position she wanted, and all her friends had been accepted. She wasn't surprised, of course; the opposite team was full of girls who had no idea what they were doing. Tobin went onto the group chat to check if they had seen the list yet.

_tobinheath: guys the list is up!!!_  
_ashlynharris24: did you all make it in?_  
_alexmorgan13: Hey i got forward!_  
_kelleyohara: YESSSSSSS_  
_alexmorgan13: Chris where's my money biatch_  
_christenpress: fine morgs you'll have it tomorrow_  
_mrapinoe: Yo Tobin my mid buddy_  
_christenpress: oh hey i'm a forward_

Tobin grabbed a cookie from her plate, grinning even wider. She closed the email and shut her laptop. Since Tobin had added Christen, Alex, Pinoe and Hope to the group chat, it had become even more hectic and confusing. The girls had all become friends, which Tobin loved, even though the rest of Christen's group had yet to meet Ashlyn and Meghan. When in the same classes, Tobin felt included in Christen and her friends' conversations. She had regained her confidence and gotten used to high school. She just hoped high school would continue to be this easy to get through.

Reopening the chat, Tobin read through the thirty new messages she had received in the time span of two minutes. Most of it consisted of Kelley complaining about how Emily Menges stole both the ball and the defender spot from her, and Allie insisting she played better as a mid anyway and Menges deserved to have that shot when she was mid because she was such a good player. Tobin realised Emily must have been the girl who took the ball off of Alex in the first mini-game. Emily had almost scored in the second game, but with Hope in goal, it didn't go through. She was definitely deserving of a spot on the team.

_kelleyohara: fine but if i get kicked out im blaming u_  
_allie_long_: Kelley the coach won't kick anyone out_  
_hopesolo: but can you believe I got goalie???_  
_mrapinoe: yes?? you saved 2 shots hope_  
_hopesolo: yeah but I missed one_  
_alexmorgan13: That's all part of the game solo_  
_christenpress: Tobin, though, ur nutmegs were on point_  
_tobinheath: just doin my thang :)_  
_ashlynharris24: i wish our school had a team :/_  
_meghankling: yeah but you're friends w that student rep girl aren't you? Ali???_  
_ashlynharris24: i've spoken to her TWICE kling i dont think i can really ask her to vouch for a whole girls team_  
_tobinheath: dude you should totally, remember how we used to play?_  
_ashlynharris24: fine but youre coming with me kling_  
_tobinheath: then we can beat you guys ;)_

Tobin brought her plate downstairs, tiptoeing on the cold tiles in the kitchen. Her parents and Jeffrey sat in the lounge, probably watching _The Bachelor_ or something. Before making her way back upstairs, she smiled at the small Jesus figure standing by the front door. He would help her get through the year, just as he had in seventh grade.

* * *

Tobin arrived at school that Thursday wishing it was already Wednesday again, so the team could practice. She had been out briefly yesterday but it was too dark, wet and cold on the field to do anything but shiver and roll the ball about. She found Allie by their lockers, staring into space. This was odd, so Tobin waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"Oh. Hi," Allie said, snapping out of her daze. She hadn't even unlocked her locker yet.

"What's up?" Tobin asked.

"Jose just said hi to me," she replied shakily.

Tobin unloaded her homework into her locker and put her bag on the top shelf, grabbed her books for the first period, locked it again. She patted her friend on the arm. "That's great, Har."

"Yeah..." Allie turned as Kelley came down the hallway to meet them.

"Jose just said hi to Allie," Kelley said.

"I heard," Tobin said, smirking at Allie, who hit her, annoyed at their teasing.

The first bell rang and Tobin and Kelley headed to their English class. Hope Solo joined them, and Tobin noticed how Kelley acted uncharacteristically gentlemanly around her - holding the door when usually she would have walked straight through; letting Hope go into the row of seats first before taking her own. Tobin wiggled her eyebrows at Kelley when they sat down and Kelley shook her head slowly with a smile.

Class went by like a flash, and soon they were out on break, and Kelley had in her hands a container of pure cookie dough. "I was craving it for ages. And I don't see _you_ eating a salad, Tobin Heath."

"Hey, Kelley, is that cookie dough?" someone asked from behind Tobin. She turned and saw a girl she faintly recognised. Mallory, she recalled, a girl a year below them from their primary school. She went around the table and snatched a bit from the container with a mischievous grin.

"Mal!" Kelley cried, but she let the other go, laughing.

"Who was that?" Christen wondered, looking at Kelley. Tobin took a bite of her apple.

"Mal Pugh, she went to our school." Kelley wagged a finger in the direction of Tobin and Allie.

Tobin looked to where Mallory escaped to. She was having an enthusiastic conversation with two other girls, who she recognised as Sam Kerr and Emily Sonnett. They must have migrated to this school together, and as Tobin could sympathise, hadn't met many other people yet.

"I know that one," Pinoe said, pointing to Sam. "She was in my soccer club."

"You think they're gonna join the team next year?" Christen suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. Then we might have enough to play practice games."

Tobin twisted the apple's stem in her fingers, and had an idea. "We should have our own practices. Once a week isn't enough, and it's only two weeks until we play."

"Good idea," Christen agreed. "Saturday?"

The group concurred heartily.

* * *

It was Saturday, 10AM as agreed, and only the two of them had shown up. Christen looked at her phone expectantly, and Tobin shuffled about on the grass, kicking the ball. "Chris, c'mon. We can start. They're only missing out."

Tobin nudged the ball and it stopped at Christen's feet. "Fine," Christen said, smirking.

Christen started dribbling the ball, rolling the ball with small abrupt movements, keeping it just far enough away that Tobin couldn't reach it. Then she approached the brunette, shifted the ball to her right foot and nutmegged her, the ball coming to a stop just behind Tobin.

"You nutmegged Queen Nutmeg!" Tobin cried, retrieving the ball and kicking it up into a juggle.

Christen laughed smugly.

"Saw that, Christen! Tobin's got some competition!" someone shouted. Kelley crossed the grass to where they stood in the middle of the field.

"I don't think so. That was one meg," Tobin said grumpily.

"Aww, Tobes, you scared?" Christen teased. "Have you heard from the others, Kelley?"

"Nope. Allie's probably lost, though."

"Yeah, even though it's like ten minutes away from my house," Tobin pointed out, balancing the ball on her head for a couple of seconds. She kicked it towards Kelley, who put her bag down next to the others'. They formed a triangle and passed the ball between them, doing small tricks. Soon the rest of the group arrived, and they split up into teams of three and four, Tobin, Christen and Kelley on one side and the late-comers on the other.

They played like that for a while, and when it was nearing eleven o'clock Christen cracked open the packet of cookies she had brought.

"Not as good as raw, but still." Kelley said, mumbling through a crumby mouthful.

Christen put the leftover cookies back in her bag and played headers with Hope for a while the others talked. Then the ball bounced askew off of Hope's head and towards Kelley.

"Kelley, heads -" Christen tried to warn her, not realising that this made it worse. Kelley looked up so instead of harmlessly bouncing off the top of her head, it hit her in the face.

"Ow." Kelley rubbed her nose as Hope and Christen rushed over.

"I'm so sorry, Kelley!" Hope apologised, hesitantly placing a hand on Kelley's shoulder. Kelley just grinned and looked at her, and Christen saw the blood threatening to drip out of her nose.

"Kell, you got a nosebleed," Christen told her, searching through her bag for some tissues.

"Oh, yeah, I get those all the time."

Christen found a tissue packet and handed her a few, which she held up to her nose all at once. Then she said, "Hold on!"

She rummaged in her own bag until she found two small, colourful packages. When Christen realised what she was thinking, she almost choked with laughter. Crediting maybe the most famous soccer movie ever, Kelley stuffed the tampons up each of her nostrils. Then she got out her phone. "Get in, you two!"

"Kelley, you're not gonna post this, are you?" Christen asked.

"Uh, yeah I am," Kelley responded. Christen wasn't really sure why she even bothered to ask.

Kelley took a selfie with the two girls and saved it. "Imma post that later."

With that, the girls played another game before it started to rain. Tobin objected to them retreating to Christen's house - "It's just water!" - but they grabbed their bags and started to run when it got heavier.

Christen told them to take their shoes off and held the door for them as they padded into the house. "Wow, Christen, nice place," Kelley said, taking the tampons out of her nose and wrapping them in her tissues, throwing it in the bin.

"Let's go upstairs," Christen said, leading them up to her room. The rain thudded on the window, streaking down and blurring the view. Christen turned the heater on and they sat on the carpet.

Then she realised she had posters up all around her room of soccer players, printed pictures of YouTube stars, and other famous people. That would be considered 'normal' for a teenage girl such as herself, but the thing was, they were mostly female. Her stomach turned as she saw Tobin looking at them, a puzzled expression on her face. She pointed at a poster of the famous Brandi Chastain moment. "I remember that."

"You saw the game?" Christen asked.

"Yeah, but I was five, so I didn't really know what was going on. I guess that part was pretty memorable though."

* * *  
**TOBIN**

Tobin looked around Christen's bedroom. The blue walls were covered in pictures of female soccer players, which Tobin found suspicious.

Kelley was fiddling with the aux cord on Christen's desk, and suddenly Tobin's ears were assaulted by Kendrick Lamar's HUMBLE. Kelley yelled and shielded her ears, reaching for the volume dial. Then they all started singing along, to Christen's obvious dismay.

"My mom's downstairs!" she tried to reason with them, to no avail. Christen stood up and stepped over Pinoe to get to the stereo. Kelley tried to block her but accidentally put her ear too close to the speaker, and Christen was able to turn it down. She looked through Kelley's playlist. "Kelley, there's like _one_ song on here that isn't explicit."

"I know," Kelley said defiantly.

Allie perked up. "I got a Truth or Dare app a while ago. Perfect!"

Tobin cringed internally, recalling the last game of Truth or Dare she was a part of. "No -"

She tried to object, but the others were in so she had to be too. Allie raised an eyebrow at Tobin and started entering the girls' names into the app.

She shook the phone and then looked at the screen, waiting. "Hope! Your go first. Truth or dare?"

Hope groaned. "Umm... Truth."

"Hmmmm..." Allie said, thinking for a minute. Tobin made eye contact with Kelley, whose face drooped annoyedly at Tobin's unspoken suggestion.

"Okay... if you had to choose between you walking in on your parents or your parents walking in on you and someone else, which would you pick?" Allie said.

"Aren't we supposed to go by the one it says on the -"

"They're shit. Look. 'Who was your first crush?' Boring!"

Hope looked like she would much rather answer that than Allie's question, but she said, "Walk in on my parents, because otherwise I'd be too embarrassed and would probably have to move out."

"Me too," a couple of the others said.

"Your turn to ask," Allie said, handing her the phone which Hope shook.

"Pinoe," Hope announced. Pinoe crawled over and looked at the screen, which Tobin guessed was to see if Hope wasn't just picking on her.

"Fine. Uh... Dare," Pinoe decided.

"Talk in your best English accent for the rest of the game."

"Ugh. Alrigh'." Pinoe said, earning a laugh from Tobin. Pinoe reached for the phone. "Kelley."

"Oooooh alright!" Kelley said. She was the only person who seemed genuinely excited to be humiliated in front of six other people. "Dare. No, tr - no. Dare."

Pinoe tilted her head at Kelley's enthusiasm. "Have Alex give you a makeovah." Pinoe emphasised the 'ah' to sound extra-cringingly British.

"Yes! Press, gimme your makeup!" Alex demanded, and Christen reached up onto the desk for a purple makeup bag.

Alex took a few minutes applying eyeliner, blush and lipstick until she deemed Kelley good enough to last the rest of the game. The group _wow_ ed at her transformation, which earned a displeased "It took Alex putting makeup on me to get that?" from Alex's victim.

Kelley took the phone and exclaimed, "Christen! Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Christen said immediately. Tobin caught the look Kelley gave her, to which Tobin shook her head. Tobin thought, _What is this, WIngman Wars?_

"Okay." Kelley was usually very good at picking Truths and Dares for people, but her makeup-laden face didn't wear a malicious grin this time. "Give an honest compliment to everyone in the room."

Christen scoffed. "I'm surprised at you, Kelley."

She turned to her right where Alex sat. "You have really good eyebrows." Then Pinoe - "You should start a clothing line." Then Hope - "You're, like, _really_ strong." Then Allie - "You have nice eyes." Kelley - "Your freckles are really cute." (Kelley covered her face at the remark, and Alex swatted her leg to stop smudging the makeup)

Finally, Christen turned to Tobin, with a funny grin, and said, "And you have a really great smile." Tobin couldn't stop herself from smiling at this, and Christen laughed.

Then she said, "Alright, my turn!" and they continued playing. Tobin was beginning to like this game.

* * *

Tobin let herself into her house just after nine. Her parents lounged in front of the TV, Perry on her iPad in the armchair. She assumed Katie was out and Jeff had gone to bed. Tobin hung up her bag, taking out her jacket and snacks she brought to the park with her. She undid the laces of her soccer boots and took them to the back deck, where she got the mud off them and hung them up on a hook in the back room. Saying a brief goodnight to her family, she brought the snacks upstairs to munch on while looking through her phone.

Tobin had been shook for the few hours after Christen's kind comment, and still was, though mulling over it in her head made her less so. She wondered from what she had seen and heard in Christen's room earlier if Christen maybe possibly liked girls. Tobin also wondered what this made her feel. She was fine with it - after all, she _was_ gay - but why she was extra fine with _Christen_ liking girls, she wasn't so sure. Tobin pushed it away and started scrolling through her social media.

* * *

"Alright team!" the coach said with fake enthusiasm. Tobin guessed he would rather be home than working late on a Wednesday, but she was glad for it. The school's decision to introduce a girls' team meant she didn't have to find a U-15 club to join, and it was free save for the trips to other schools, which wasn't until week five. Tobin bounced in her shin guards and Christen looked at her funny.

Sermanni finished explaining the drills and the girls got into groups, Tobin moving to stand behind Pinoe with the other midfielders at the centre line, Christen and the forwards about five metres diagonally from the goal, and the goalkeepers standing beside the goal with Hope guarding it. Each person in each group took a turn doing their job - delivering, shooting or saving - for about ten minutes and then Sermanni told them to take a break, which they found unnecessary. Tobin wished they had an actual soccer coach and not just some uninterested PE teacher. She didn't see how they were supposed to win any competitive games if they weren't training properly.

Christen sat next to Tobin in the middle of the pitch, sipping from her drink bottle. Apparently she had the same concerns Tobin had. "We're not gonna win if Coach doesn't coach us properly."

Tobin nodded, picking at the turf beside her foot. Then, as if reading their thoughts, Mr Sermanni came over to them with the bag of soccer balls draped over his shoulder, and crouched to meet their eye level. "Hey girls. So, Tobin, I can see you're a seasoned player. I don't really know much about coaching serious games. I'm usually more of a health and fitness teacher. You got any tips?"

Tobin was surprised at this. She took a moment, then suggested, "Footwork. And my old coach made us do tactics and scrimmage too."

The coach seemed to consider these options, and then smiled and stood back up. "Thanks!"

"Rude," Christen mumbled after he had gone.

"What?"

"He didn't say I looked like a 'seasoned player'." Christen crossed her arms.

"You've never even been in a team, Press," Tobin said.

"He doesn't know that!" Christen exclaimed, then snorted amusedly.

Tobin laughed at the other girl's antics. She stretched her legs out in front of her, thankful for the dry weather they were experiencing this week. She closed her eyes just as Sermanni called them back into action. She and Christen deposited their bottles back at the edge of the field and head to the rest of the group The rest of practice, Coach Sermanni is considerably more engaged with the girls' training this time around, taking Tobin's tips and getting them to practice footwork maneuvers, one of which reminded Tobin of that shuffling dance move, except involving a ball.

After practice, Tobin was actually panting, actually tired unlike the first practices. _This is good,_ she thought. _We might win out first game._

Stacy offered to drive her home again when Tobin walked with Christen back to the car. Tobin accepted it, thanking her and sitting in the back with Christen. They crossed the suburbs back to theirs, Stacy talking to Tobin about soccer, classes and their friends. Tobin hopped out of the car, thanked them again and waved goodbye to Christen, who sent Tobin another sweet smile. Tobin ate dinner in content quietness, and went to sleep happy with herself.

* * *  
**CHRISTEN**

Christen stood in the middle of the field. The ball sat under her right foot, and she faced the the other team. A harsh wind battered her body.

A whistle blew, and suddenly all her opponents were coming at her with murderous looks on their faces. Christen looked down and saw she was in her PJ shorts and a t-shirt. This didn't make sense. But she had no time to think when all the enemies were scrambling for the ball, and it was all she could do to look around for a teammate to get the ball to before she was engulfed. There was no one on her side, and she didn't know how to get out.

Then, as she lay curled around the ball, she recognised the faces of her attackers. Her team. Alex, kicking at her bare shins, her cleats grazing and bruising her skin. Christen turned in pain, seeing Kelley trying to pry the ball from her grasp, her nails tearing at Christen's arms. Then, Christen yelled as she saw another face, stray brunette hairs falling in front of the mad eyes that were Tobin Heath's. Christen managed to toss the ball up into the air and over her attackers, but they paid no notice. Christen screamed. _Why can't I wake up, why can't I -_

Christen woke up being shaken by firm hands. Christen opened her eyes face to face with Tyler, who let go of her shoulders when she saw she was awake. Christen felt her eyes burn with tears, her face flushing. She leaned into a hug.

"It's not real. Shhh," Tyler muttered, rubbing Christen's back. Christen looked at the clock over Tyler's shoulder. It was 6:29 AM. Christen breathed deeply.

"C'mon, meditate with me," Tyler suggested, sitting further back on the bed, Christen folding her legs and closing her eyes again. They Christen heard her sister's breathing and copied it, and she soon calmed down. "Stay here, I'll get you a drink."

Tyler returned a few minutes later with a large mug of hot chocolate and left again, to get ready for early work, Christen presumed. Christen sat in bed sipping her drink until seven, when she got up and dressed for school. She brought herself and her mug down to the kitchen, grabbing a bowl of cereal. She ate while looking through her notifications. There was a text from an unfamiliar number.

_hey christen it's tobin_  
_i'm msging you on Katie's phone because i think i left mine at ur house cuz im stupid_

Christen shot back a message saying she'd bring it to school this morning, and saved the number just in case it happened again, which Christen thought was likely considering it was Tobin. She put her phone in her pocket, her bowl in the dishwasher, and went upstairs to get ready.

Christen left for school half an hour later, walking to the bus stop in the brisk Fall air. She scrolled absently through her Spotify playlist, picked a tune, and walked in time with it. She felt unusually emotionless despite her fright earlier that morning, but she wasn't happy either. The dream drove its way into her thoughts regularly on her ride to school, and Christen thought maybe this was a sign. Typically the more logical person, she threw this thought away, but she couldn't help but think this had something to do with reality.

She moved through the uncrowded hallway to reach her locker, only a couple of people milling about this early before school. She organised her locker for the day and checked the time, seeing she still had about half an hour before the first bell. Christen went outside and crossed the yard, climbing the steps of the bleachers to the top and sitting down. She sighed, a puff of mist escaping with her breath. No one was out, but Christen was rugged up in three layers, a grey coat insulating her body from the cold, so there she stayed until a voice called gently to her from the bottom of the stands.

Tobin was making her way up the steps in a fluffy parka, skipping two steps at a time. Christen sat back as Tobin stepped over her feet to sit next to her. Tobin rubbed her gloved hands together. "Whatcha doing out here?"

"Nothing," Christen said, giving her a small smile. This was all she needed - the girl she had eyes on sitting next to her after the morning she had. Christen couldn't push out the image of Tobin's crazed face in her nightmare.

"You okay?" Tobin rubbed Christen's upper arm with her hand. Christen stared at her knees.

"Yeah, I -" She faltered. Christen's face burned again and she covered her eyes with her hand, her fingers dampening.

"Hey," Tobin whispered, pulling Christen into her arms. Christen buried her face into the soft padding of Tobin's jacket, feeling humiliated at her friend seeing her like this. Tobin rubbed circles on her back, giving her warmth. Christen closed her eyes.

"You want to talk about it?"

Christen shook her head, burrowing deeper into the hug. She let go after a minute, wiping her face and nose with a tissue. Tobin sat close to her, an arm around her shoulders. Christen decided if the dream bothered her that much it must mean something. Christen began to doubt herself, her position among her friends, on the team. She knew practically nothing about soccer, and as for her friends, well... Christen didn't supply much to the conversations they had. She started to feel like her fear was of being unnecessary.

Christen rested her head on Tobin's shoulder for a few minutes. She felt Tobin tense and wondered if she had overstepped at first, but the brunette just kept rubbing Christen's arm and sighed.

* * *

Khaleesi dropped her head onto Christen's thigh, lying next to her on her owner's bed. Morena came up on the other side and curled up, Christen stroking the dogs gently. They weren't really supposed to be on the furniture, but Christen needed them. They helped her relax after her day of fragility.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at it. Alex was FaceTiming her. She picked up and scrunched her nose at the sight of her own face. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying or being close to doing so all day, and her hair was wildly knotted, falling over her shoulders.

"Honey, you're a mess," Alex said, which made Christen feel _much_ better. "Tell me what's wrong, you've been weird all day."

Christen inhaled deeply and told Alex about her dream. She was the first one Christen had told, and Alex listened intently for a few minutes until she finished. "Chris, that's not gonna happen. We love you, all of us. You belong with us."

Christen smiled faintly at Alex's sincerity. Christen knew she could share anything with Alex; she was there before any of the others. But now they were getting older, Christen's emotions getting stronger, things getting more serious and influential - Christen felt more closed off, like something like this was something they really didn't need.

Christen realised she had started keeping everything from her friends. They didn't know how badly this was worrying her, they didn't know about her crush - hell, they didn't know she was gay. Christen told herself she needed to change this.

"Al," Christen started. Alex looked at her through the screen, and Christen knew she couldn't turn back.

"I - um, well..." she stuttered, not knowing how to start. "I have a crush."

"I know that, Chrissy," Alex said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know, but... it's a girl." Christen forced the words out, wincing, waiting for a reaction. The only one she got was:

"Okay, cool."

"Cool?" Christen repeated.

"Yeah," Alex said. "Wait, so what does that mean? You're bi, or -"

"I'm gay," Christen blurted out.

"Oh, okay," Alex nodded, seeming to think about this for a second. "How long have you known?"

Christen got worried Alex was going to get mad at her for not telling her. "Um, about a year and a half? I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, I just -"

"Chris, it's fine. Really," Alex said, grinning and waving a hand. "It doesn't matter."

Christen was about to attempt to tell her who her crush was, but suddenly Alex's eyes widened. "Chris, Servando's calling me! What do I do?"

Christen laughed. "Answer it, Al. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Chris." Alex ended the call. Christen put her phone on charge on her desk and snuggled down into her bed. She breathed in the warmth, and turned out the lamp.

* * *  
_GAME DAY_

Christen stared out the window of the van, the glass cold against the side of her head. Alex nudged her. "You nervous?"

Christen nodded, lifting her head as Alex patted her leg. "So am I."

Then Kelley stuck her head between their two seats eagerly. "I heard St Mary's are really bad."

"Yeah," Hope said from beside her. "But apparently they play with studs."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Christen asked.

"Yeah," Hope said, pulling Kelley back into her seat by the shoulder. Christen turned back around in her seat and waited for the van to arrive at St Mary's.

When they walk out on the pitch, Christen looks over to where the opposing team is stretching on their half of the field. As they get closer and the St Mary's girls meet them in the middle, Christen recognises a face from her school.

"Press," Kaylyn Kyle chides. Christen gives her her best bitch stare before taking her position on the field. She looks back nervously, as if to check if her teammates were still there, unlike in her dream. She saw Kelley O'Hara scowling from midfield, and looked across to see Tobin diagonally across from Christen. Tobin looked focused, like she was calculating how the entirety of the match would play out, or maybe just who she would nutmeg first. Finally, Christen looked to Alex, who stood just ten metres away as the other forward. Alex nodded at Christen, smiling. Christen imagined her saying, _You got this, hon._

* * *

Christen sat hard on the bench, looking down at the swelling of her calf. She knew Kaylyn wasn't going to play fair. Also, as she discovered the hard way, St Mary's do play with studs, out of regulation. Christen had to be subbed out in the middle of the second half, but the ref didn't penalise Kyle for her rough play.

Christen ran a finger along the scrapes on the back of her shin, wincing at the sting. Hope, who was still waiting to play, came back with an ice pack wrapped in a towel, and Christen applied it carefully to her leg.

She looked out to the pitch. The playing eleven now consisted of Alex, Tobin, Kelley, Emily Menges, both the Abbys, Sarah Gorden, Allie, Becky Sauerbrunn and Pinoe, and Christen had been replaced by Amy Rodriguez.

She watched the rest of the game, and clapped loudly when Tobin managed to nutmeg Kyle _and_ score a goal in the same possession.

They won 1-0, and at the end she abandoned the ice pack and bounded onto the field, joining the celebration, which was a bit over-the-top since this was their first game and they'd only scored once, but it was great. Then the pain in her leg caught up with her and Alex had to help her back to the benches.

"Who was that girl?" Kelley asked on the way back to the van. "You got beef, Pressi?"

"Yeah, actually," Christen replied. "She went to our school. I don't really know why she picked on me."

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit. Look what she did to your leg!" Alex exclaimed.

The group continued talking about the game in the van, and it was getting dark when they finally reached the school carpark. Mr Sermanni congratulated them on a job well done, and they all started going home. Christen could see her mom waiting for her in the car, and said goodbye to all her teammates except Tobin, of course, who was dragged along for a lift home.

"How'd it go, ladies?" Stacy demanded excitedly.

"We won," Christen told her. Stacy looked back at them, beaming. She and Tobin explained the whole game to her on the drive to Tobin's house. Christen waved goodbye to her teammate and sat back in the seat as the Ford pulled away from the curb again. She daydreamed for the few minutes it took them to get home, ate dinner listening to Tyler and Channing's stories, and went up to her room. She tried to stay awake, but kept losing focus on her phone and daydreaming about her day instead, and ended up going to bed early.

* * *  
**TOBIN**

That weekend, the 'squad', as Kelley liked to call it, went back to the pitch near Christen's house for their regular 'training' session - which mostly consisted of talking, eating and nutmeg competitions. It was sunny out, the end of September treating them unusually nicely for the middle of Fall. A faint breeze tickled the back of Tobin's neck as she practiced her footwork, the sun heating her skin. Christen approached her with their water bottles, handing Tobin's over and taking a few gulps out of her own. Tobin tried so hard to not look at Christen's tan arms, but the other girl looked way too good in that tank top. Tobin scolded herself.

She got through about half of her water in one go, and put it down on the grass, passing the ball to Christen. The green in her eyes seemed to glow in the sunlight, and our brunette found it difficult not to get distracted and miss the other girl's passes. They played like that for a while, until they heard a yell from a few metres away. Kelley had faceplanted in the grass and sent their ball speeding in the other direction. Tobin watched as Hope hurried to her, helping Kelley up and brushing the pieces of grass off her face. Tobin could see Kelley's blush from where she stood. Hope said something, pointing to Kelley's face, and Kelley went to her bag, grabbing some tissues for her evident nosebleed.

"She really does get them all the time," Christen remarked.

Tobin nodded. "We did had to do a project in fifth grade and we ended up starting again because she bled all over it."

Christen chuckled. Tobin kicked up the ball and caught it with her hands, balancing it on her forehead. She could see Christen watching her. The ball sat precariously on Tobin's forehead for a few moments and then she rolled it forward, over her nose, and finally kissed it before catching it again, earning another laugh from Christen. Tobin grinned at her. Christen moved closer.

"We should go out soon, huh?"

Tobin froze for a moment. "Sure, I'll try not to get us arrested."

"How about after this?" Christen suggests.

Tobin tucked the ball under her arm. "Sweet."

* * *

Christen and Tobin dropped their stuff back at Christen's place and Christen grabbed some cash and a jacket. When Tobin asked where they were going, Christen just said, "Wait and see."

Christen led her deep into the city, to a park Tobin vaguely recognised. People sat on blankets and there was a stage put up in a clearing, and the trees rustled their orange leaves in the wind. "Music starts at four and there's food trucks over there."

Tobin checked the time on her phone, surprised to see it was so late - 3:47 PM. She slid the device back into the pocket of her jacket, and smiled at Christen. "Sounds good."

They sat on the grass talking, Tobin's legs outstretched, Christen's knee resting on her thigh. Tobin piped up when her stomach growls, signalling that it was time for food. Christen must've heard it too, because she laughed and reached into her pocket for money.

"I'll go," Tobin offered when Christen moved to get up. "What do you want?"

"Whatever you get," Christen said.

Tobin took the money since she didn't bring any of her own, and walked over to the cluster of trucks. Her nose picked up several delicious scents all at once as she scanned the signs. Mexican, Thai, Greek... Tobin went for the American diner-style truck, a blue one with red and silver accents, its menu written in a cursive font. Tobin chose to get two normal burgers, nothing special, and a medium portion of fries. She heard the first band introduce themselves as she reached up to take the food, and then returned to Christen, the park considerably more crowded.

"Oooh, thanks," Christen said, taking her burger from Tobin. Setting the fries down between them, Tobin stretched out on the grass again and looked at Christen, who was watching the performance. The changing lights danced across her features, lit up her eyes. Tobin thought she was stunning.

They finished their burgers as the second band came onstage. None of the performers were familiar to Tobin, but their shows were good, fitting the atmosphere of the park. When it was getting close to six o'clock, Tobin noticed how dark it was getting, thinking they should probably get back soon. Christen agreed and they strolled out of the park onto the now-quieter city street. Tobin pulled up the collar of her jacket to shield her neck from the chilling breeze, and shoved her hands in her pockets.

They were sitting at the back of the near-empty bus, Tobin's head against the graffiti-covered wall, when she felt Christen's arm slip through her own, and Tobin fell asleep for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Tobin woke with a groan as her back ached when she moved. Either she had been snoring and was forced to sleep downstairs, or - this was not her house. She glanced around the living room, adjusting her eyes, taking in the familiar surroundings.

Yesterday's memories came back to her. She had fallen asleep on the bus. She remembered Christen pulling her off with her, despite it being the wrong stop. Apparently Christen had gotten clearance from her mother for Tobin to sleep over, because it was already bright outside, light leaking in under the blinds. Tobin squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again as someone appeared next to her, placing a mug on the coffee table.

"Hi," Christen said, yawning. "Sorry you had to take the couch. I wasn't about to try and get you up the stairs."

Tobin looked at the other girl, who smiled lazily at her from where she stood. "How'd you convince my mom to let me stay?"

Christen shrugged, raising her eyebrows and smirking. Tobin chuckled at her friend, reaching for the mug she'd set down for her. Tobin sat up under the fluffy blanket she found draped over her, and Christen sat next to her, crossing one leg over the other. Tobin watched as she inspected the still-visible scrapes on her leg. She winced as she remembered watching Christen's right calf getting beat up on the pitch when she was trying to get through St Mary's defenses. Now the marks were fading, but the bruising was still there.

Tobin yawned deeply and took another sip of hot chocolate, feeling the liquid coat her insides with warmth. Just then, Tyler entered, looking disheveled in her pyjamas. Tobin waved sleepily at her and she said, "Hey Tobin," before going into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, Tobin, your mom dropped off a change of clothes and stuff," Christen told her.

"Oh. Cool," Tobin grinned. She had a feeling this would mean she could spend the Sunday with Christen.

* * *  
**CHRISTEN**  
_HALLOWEEN_

Christen walked along the footpath up to Tobin's house, looking at the carved pumpkins glowing in the dim evening light. She could hear the yells of Kelley O'Hara from inside, probably arguing about the costume she had been forced to wear. The group had struggled to choose a theme for their squad Halloween costume, since there were seven of them, but Pinoe piped up about a movie called _The Outsiders_ and suggested they watch it and dress up as the Greasers.

Christen pulled her denim shirt tighter around her, shivering at the slight cold on her bare arms. She was Steve Randle, which she was less than ecstatic about, but it was fine if her friends were dressing up with her. She let herself into the Heath house, the door ajar already. The others were waiting for her just inside.

Christen took in the sight as her denim-and-leather-clad friends greeted her. Kelley, who managed to find a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt to de-sleeve, her hair gelled with a few strands stuck into a Superman curl on her forehead - she was Two-Bit Mathews. Then there was Alex, as Sodapop Curtis - Alex had commented how attractive he was during the movie, and the whole group had groaned exasperatedly. There were Pinoe, Hope and Allie as Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and Dally Winston, respectively. Then there was Tobin, as Darry Curtis, her hair curled, wearing a plaid shirt she had apparently borrowed from her dad, which was loose on her even tucked into her black jeans.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kelley shouted, marching out of the house as Christen put her bag down just inside the door. Tobin held out a plastic bucket shaped like a jack o'lantern for Christen to take, and they made their way out of the house and down to the house next door to start Trick-or-Treating.

* * *

A couple of hours later, after arriving back with buckets full of candy and eating a lot of it, each girl was either on a sugar high or crashing from one. Christen was the former, whereas Kelley, who lay asleep with her feet on Christen's lap, was the latter. Christen looked at Tobin on the other couch, her arm draped off the side while she watched TV. Christen had shed only her denim vest-thing, while Kelley found the comfort to remove her sweatshirt and nap in just a sports bra and her jeans, which Christen found brave as well as strange considering they had known each other just over a year, the same wit Alex, Pinoe and Hope. But Christen decided she would take this as a weird sign of their growing friendship.

Allie sat on the other couch as well, with Tobin, while the remaining three sat on the floor against Christen's sofa, Alex's head resting on Christen's knee. It was difficult for Christen not to fall asleep. Eventually she did, and it seemed like only moments had passed before it was morning and they were waking up again. Christen leaned over to look at Alex, careful not to knock Kelley's feet. Alex was latched onto Christen's right leg, and apparently Pinoe had moved to the armchair on the other side of the room, leaving Hope under a blanket on the carpet. Allie rubbed her eyes and waved at Christen sleepily. Christen noticed the glint of drool on Kelley's chin and snorted with laughter, eliciting a grumble from the freckled girl. Christen looked at the buckets of candy, each approximately half full, and felt guilty of eating so much.

Kelley sat up, removing her feet from Christen's lap and yawning. "Guess what?" she said.

"You're hungry," Tobin guessed.

Kelley faked shock. "How did you _know_?"

Tobin gave a big shrug. "Aren't you cold, Kel?"

Kelley looked down, appearing to only just realise she was in her bra, and reached down to grab her sleeveless sweatshirt from the floor. Tobin stood up and stretched, hiked up her jeans and moved into the kitchen. "Pancakes?"

At this, Kelley jumped up, almost stumbling over Hope who was just waking up, and followed Tobin, sliding in her socks. Hope sat up and looked around. "What -"

"Ow!" Kelley yelled from the kitchen. The rest of the gang hurried to see what happened.

Kelley had gone to the sink and was running water over her arm. "All good! Just burnt myself!"

Tobin sighed. "Maybe you shouldn't lean on the stovetop next time, Kelley."

"Hey, I didn't know you had already turned the thing on."

Christen laughed as Tobin started mixing the pancake batter in a bowl. They all ate their breakfast loudly and with much complaining from Alex because she got maple syrup in her hair. The morning reminded Christen of that New Year's day at Allie's house. Now the group had expanded even further.

* * *  
**TOBIN**

_Tobin was starting to regret playing in this weather. Normally, she'd be fine with it, but as an exhausted and sopping wet team with low morale, they didn't stand much chance of winning. It must have been nearing the last five minutes of play, and our team hadn't scored yet, down one point. They kept getting close, but the other school's defense was too good. Tobin was speeding along the edge of the field with the ball, the mud under her feet squelching. She had only one opponent guarding her, but the others were well spread in front of the goal. The rain made it hard to hear her teammates, but she managed to communicate a one-two with Pinoe and Tobin was able to get closer before receiving the ball back. She squinted to spot Christen a few metres away, past an oncoming defender. Tobin megged the defender and Press got the ball, but not before Tobin and her opponent both slipped in the muck. Tobin watched in amazement, lying on her stomach in the filthy grass, as Christen finally scored. Tobin scrambled up as the ref blew the whistle._

_She sprinted to Christen, spinning the other girl around in her arms. Their teammates swarmed around them, screaming victory._

Tobin woke with a start, realising with mild annoyance that they were still on the bus to their last game of the year. Tobin thought their schedule was a bit messed up since they were playing on either side of Winter instead of during the real soccer season which was in April, but it was okay, as long as the weather in her dream didn't occur in the real game as well.

They were playing against a boys' team, which they wouldn't be doing if they hadn't argued with the school for weeks beforehand. The sexes were still separated in interschool sports, which the girls found stupid. Eventually the coach had to intervene, on their side, though, and he organised a game with the boys' team from a public school not far from theirs, because there were no other girls' teams for them to play against. So here they were, in the school's van on the way to the opposing school.

Tobin looked at Allie beside her. Her friend was wrapped up in one of her romance novels, earphones in. Tobin looked over her headrest, straining against the tight seatbelt to see Christen and Alex chatting quietly. Kelley was having an animated discussion with Pinoe across the aisle, a few rows down. Tobin looked out of the window, blurred by raindrops. The buildings smeared in and out of view as they sped along the road. Out of the front window, Tobin saw the school they were approaching - an uninteresting brown-bricked collection of buildings. They turned a corner and the field came into view, just a grass patch at the back of the school.

"You think maybe we should hold off until the rain stops?" Coach Sermanni said over his shoulder as he parked the van. Tobin shook her head.

"Doesn't look like it's letting up any time soon. It's just water," she declared. The girls got off the bus and made their way to where the boys' team was waiting under the shelter. Sermanni announced the starting eleven, including all but Leroux, Wambach and Alex.

The boys strode onto the field, and Tobin scoffed at how confident and boastful they tried to look. Both teams took their positions.

Play began with a chirp of Sermanni's whistle. The first half included two nutmegs from Tobin, one curveball from Christen (which very nearly went into the goal but was knocked out by the goalie), a header goal from one of the boys, which only seemed to boost their arrogance. Tobin found it astonishing how their coach simply seemed to reflect this behaviour.

Just after the start of the second half, Tobin had the ball, and wove her way through to the penalty box. She was sure she would get it. Then a defender stepped in her way, and she couldn't figure out a way past him. She nudged and stopped the ball several times before managing to find an opening, and continued, before she miscalculated where the ball was, and rolled her foot. She hopped along a few times and rolled it off to Rodriguez before crumpling in pain, watching with black spots in her eyes as Amy shot the goal, the ball slamming into the back of the net.

Tobin lay on the ground holding her knee to keep her foot off the ground. She felt a hand brush stray wet hairs off her face, and heard a familiar voice say, "Shhh, it's okay, deep breaths." She concentrated on this voice, squeezing her eyelids shut and opening them again to see the green of Christen's. She could hear the coach coming.

"You think she's broken it, coach?" Tobin heard Kelley ask, and looked to see her kneeling by her side.

"Don't know," Sermanni answered. "Can you girls help Tobin to the shelter while I call an ambulance please?"

Tobin was hoisted up and yelped when she leaned on her right foot once. She hopped to cover with the support of Allie and Christen, the others following close behind. The other coach waved his team off the field as Allie rubbed circles on Tobin's back as Christen held her left hand. Kelley offered to hold her leg up, which cheered Tobin up a little. The paramedics arrived and took a look at Tobin's ankle, and decided that it was, in fact, broken. Tobin was put on a stretcher, which she thought was unnecessary.

"You want to come along, hon?" said one of the paramedics as she wheeled Tobin along, looking at someone beyond Tobin's view. "You seem to be a big help in calming her down."

Christen had followed them to the ambulance, and now she was being offered a ride with Tobin in the ambulance. Christen just nodded, eyes wide. "Okay, just take a seat there."

She climbed in the van and gave Tobin an awkward smile. Tobin wiped her eyes, wet from the tears of pain. "How bad did it look?" Tobin asked.

"Pretty bad. Your foot, like, turned the wrong way," Christen said, cringing.

"Well," Tobin said, grinning, "Maybe you can sign my cast."

* * *

Tobin sat with her foot up in the lounge room, looking at Christen pitifully as Cindy made a big fuss over her daughter. Her mom went into the kitchen on the phone with her dad and Tobin sighed. "It doesn't really hurt that much now."

"Not surprised, they gave you so much painkiller," Christen joked.

"Not enough," Tobin said, pouting in fake anger.

"You were practically delirious, Tobin."

Tobin just crossed her arms. It was dark outside, and she was getting tired. "I wish you guys coulda kept playing."

"We wouldn't have won without our star player setting up goals for us," Christen replied, moving closer to Tobin on the sofa and hooking an arm over her shoulders playfully. Tobin thought she would take it away again - but it remained, and Tobin blushed. Until the front door opened and the rest of their friends came crashing into the room.

"Tobin! Are you okay?" Allie fell onto the couch next to her.

"That was a harsh break, Tobe!" This was Kelley. "Can I sign your cast?"

"You basically _scored_ that goal! How did you kick it with a broken foot?" said Alex frantically

"What?" Tobin looked at Alex.

"Yeah, I saw it! You took a whole 'nother step and passed to Rodriguez with your right," Alex explained, grinning wildly.

Tobin thought she must have been so distracted by the goal and the break that she forgot to stop moving. She wondered if they would have gotten that goal if not for her extra kick. "I - I didn't realise."

Kelley slid down on her knees with a Sharpie and started writing on Tobin's cast. Tobin was worried, because she couldn't see what Kelley was so carefully inscribing. For all she knew, it was a -

"Kelley, do NOT draw what I think you're gonna draw," Allie cut in, and Kelley frowned incriminatingly.

The others took their turns signing the cast and soon half of it was covered, a bit excessive seeing as there were only six of them to do so. Then they all went home, and Tobin was left to fall asleep thinking, _What would I honestly do without them?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter made me feel things
> 
> ps i know it took me AGES to update and it's only the second chapter but i have school n shit so stay w me  
> pps i only proofread half of it cause i'm a lazy bugger soooooo yeah


	3. Chapter Three: Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wingwoman battles and a fight for a ticket to Florida

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! find me on the tumblr @oh-no-momo  
> ps there's kinda a wonder woman spoiler in there so yeah

**CHRISTEN**

"Oh, honey, you gotta keep me in the know!"

Christen sighed exasperatedly as Alex rambled about her wingman skills. Christen personally thought this was simply insulting, that Alex believed she couldn't do it by herself. But frankly, in the back of her mind, Chritsen knew she would need all the help she could get in the romantic aspect of life.

"Al," Christen said. 

Alex looked straight at Christen. "I could stuff something up if you don't tell me!" 

This pulled a laugh out of Christen. Her eyes widened as she saw the time on the little phone screen. "Well, I need to get ready."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I better run too. But don't think this is over! I vow to you that by the end of the year whoever it is will like you back _at least!_ If she doesn't already, that is!"

Christen scoffed. "Right. Later, Lex."

"Byeeee!" Alex said ecstatically. Christen ended the call and got herself ready for the first day back at school. Even though the teachers were stressing that this was an important year for them, it felt the exact same. The only difference was that Christen had more subjects. PE was still compulsory, as were English, maths, history/geography, languages and science - Christen had pleaded with whatever force kept her in Ms Ellis's class that she wouldn't have her again - but Christen had been able to choose fitness and music.

Christen was about to open the front door, when she heard a knock. She peered through the peephole to find a familiar pair of brown eyes staring back at her. "Your escort is here, m'lady!"

Christen laughed at Tobin's noble tone and opened the door. Tobin encased her in a hug. "Easy, Tobes, don't break my back on the first day."

"Sorry,"' Tobin laughed, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "Wanna walk to school with me?"

'Nah,' Christen said sarcastically. Tobin stared at her for a second before grinning. Christen nudged her. "Kidding! Of course I do."

Tobin chuckled. "That's what I thought."

* * *

"You actually walked to school with her! Ooooooooh, Chris, get -"

"Alex!" Christen slapped the other girl's arm lightly. "Relax."

"Wait, did she come to your house? What -"

"What about you and Servando, huh?" Christen rushed to try and change the subject. Alex narrowed her eyes but went along with it, explaining what had happened in the summer.

_____  
_"Hi Alex," Servando greeted nervously._

_"Hey!" Alex said. She tried desperately to put on a face of confidence, but in truth, she was scared as hell. This was only the second time she and Servando had gone out together, and she still didn't think she could complete a comprehensible sentence with him around._

_"What movie do you want to see?" Servando pointed to the screen above the kiosk, displaying all the movies. Alex looked down the list._

__"Oh my god, they're still showing the new Ghostbusters! Have you seen it?"_ _

__

_Servando laughed quietly. "Actually, I haven't. But it can't be as good as the old ones."_

_"Oh, really? Well, we'll have to see what you think afterwards," Alex proposed with a smirk. This was going well._

_Servando, being the gentleman he was, bought the tickets, which Alex thought was a bit old fashioned, but she said she'd get popcorn and frozen Cokes._

_The movie started, and Alex relaxed into the plush red cushioning of her seat. She thought,_ This is so unoriginal, a movie. Why did I suggest this? _But she was enjoying herself so far._

_Servando, being the gentleman he was, bought the tickets, which Alex thought was a bit old fashioned, but said she'd get popcorn and frozen Cokes._

_The movie started, and Alex relaxed into the plush red cushioning of her seat. She thought,_ This is so unoriginal, a movie. Why did I suggest this? _But she was enjoying herself so far._

_A little ways through the film, Alex could feel Servando's eyes on her, and looked at him with a smile. He leaned a little closer, and Alex's heart practically jumped out of her chest. And then -_

_____

"Oh my god, he kissed you?! No waaaay!" Christen chided sarcastically. "What happened then?" 

__"Then we finished the movie and after that he asked me to be his... girlfriend..." Alex faltered, blushing profusely. Christen jumped up and down with glee as Pinoe approached them at their lockers, giving them weird looks._ _

__"What's going on?" Pinoe inquired._ _

__"Serv asked Alex to be his girlfriend!" Christen exclaimed excitedly. Pinoe gasped, squealing and hugging Alex, who snapped out of her apparent daze and laughed._ _

__"Hey!" said Kelley, whose arm was linked with Hope's as they came down the hallway. "Look who I found!"_ _

__Tobin was also back, from the bathroom, and they all started discussing their teachers for the first class - English. Christen, Kelley and Pinoe were in Mr Dames's class, while Alex was in Ms Harvey's, Hope was in Ms Cole's and Tobin and Allie were in Mr Parsons's. Christen felt sorry for Alex and Hope, who were both without a friend in their classes, but they all were acquainted with a few people so they'd get on fine through the year. She saw the arrangement as an opportunity to get to know Kelley, whom Christen was always intrigued by. The freckled girl's impeccable sense of humour and comic timing was enough to get the whole class laughing sometimes, as Christen had heard from stories. Plus, Christen swore there was something going on with her and a certain Solo girl._ _

__"Hey, Christen!" she heard from further down the hall. Julie Johnston was coming up to the group and Christen sent her a friendly smile in response. "Oh, hey Tobin, how's the ankle?"_ _

__"It's almost completely better, thanks," Tobin said in her usual mellow morning tone._ _

__"That's good! So, do any of you have Ellis for science second period?" Julie asked. Christen and Tobin looked at each other, both feeling copious amounts of pity for the blonde in front of them, and they both shook their heads._ _

__Tobin then turned to the rest of the group. "Anyone have Ellis for science?"_ _

__"Yeah, me!" shouted Kelley_ _

__"There you go," Tobin said, raising a hand in uncertainty as she turned back to Julie. "Good luck."_ _

__"Uh, thanks?" Julie said, giving them both an unsure smirk before turning and heading back from whence she came. The bell rang, and they all spread to their various classes, Kelley almost dropping her books for excessive hand gestures while she described a summer incident involving whipped cream and a frog. She appeared even more overexcited than usual, which Christen couldn't understand as the time had yet to pass nine o'clock on a Monday morning, and it was the first day back at school. Nevertheless, she kept the class amusing, and Christen loved it._ _

__The group met up after English and went outside to eat. Allie kept staring down at the field where Jose and his friends were playing soccer. Alex was looking so very invested in her phone as always. And Kelley hadn't brought a box of choc-chip cookie dough this time. Just oatmeal cookie dough instead - "What? At least it's healthier!" - which earned Kelley a stern telling-off from Pinoe and Alex. The whole table laughed, though, and Kelley sulked in her seat, scooping out a piece of dough with a pout on her face._ _

__Christen looked to Tobin, who sat next to Kelley. Her eyes sparkled in that way of hers, which no one else's quite matched. "Okay, I have an announcement!" she said, waving a hand for the group to settle down. "I am going to Florida for a week in the spring, and my parents are letting me take one of you."_ _

__"Oh, please, Tobe, don't get their hopes up!" Kelley joked. "It's gonna be me, obviously."_ _

__"Ah-ah, Kels, all of you will have an equal chance. Just play your cards right, and you might just land a ticket!" Tobin chided._ _

__Allie started to argue alongside Kelley, and everyone else tried getting their reasons in as to why they should be picked, but Tobin hushed them. "You got until February."_ _

__The others grumbled as she took a bite of her biscuit. Christen turned to Alex. "You wanted to go to Florida, right?"_ _

__Alex smirked. "Yeah, but I have a feeling you got a better chance, Miss Hearteyes."_ _

__"Wh - no, what?" Christen elbowed Alex in the arm. "How did you -"_ _

__"Are you kidding me?" Alex laughed loudly. "I could tell before you even told me you were gay!"_ _

__Alex had said this a little too loudly. Christen covered her mouth, her heart jumping. Apparently they had all heard it._ _

__Kelley just said, " _Another one?!_ "_ _

__"Whadda you mean, "another one?" Hope said, looking between Kelley and Christen. She leaned closer to the group, speaking in a hushed tone. "Wait, how many of us are gay?"_ _

__Christen watched as Kelley adamantly raised a hand, and Pinoe did the same, but slightly more nervously. Christen decided to do so too, smiling lopsidedly. Then she could have sworn she felt the butterflies' wings flapping in her throat, because Tobin Heath put her hand in the air too._ _

__"Whoa!" Pinoe exclaimed._ _

__"Well, since I asked, I am bisexual," Hope said, grinning and placing a hand on her own chest. Christen heard Kelley half choke on her cookie dough, and snorted at her in amusement._ _

__Christen looked at Alex who said, "Sorry!"_ _

__"Doesn't matter!" Christen said, laughing giddily. Then she said quietly, just to Alex, "But maybe now I _do_ have a better chance."_ _

__* * *_ _

__"Christen, wait up!"_ _

__Christen turned around in the middle of the deserted hallway. Kelley jogged up to her and stopped, panting slightly._ _

__"Kell, I have to get to class," Christen complained._ _

__"Who cares?" Kelley said, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face. "Listen, I know everyone knows how I like Solo. Right?"_ _

__"Right...?" Christen agreed warily._ _

"Can you possibly help me... ask her out?" Kelley looked at the floor. _She's nervous?_ Christen thought. _Kelley O'Hara, nervous?_

__"I guess so," Christen said._ _

__"Great! And I'll help with Tobin, too," Kelley said. Christen gasped and tried to smack her on the arm, but Kelley was already jogging back the way she came. "She _loooooves_ you!"_ _

__Christen rolled her eyes at Kelley's comment, but smiled uncontrollably._ _

__* * *  
**TOBIN**_ _

__Tobin walked alongside Christen, the two passing the ball between them. Morena and Khaleesi had run up ahead, and Tobin could see the younger of the two poking her head around the fence post. Tobin wasn't sure how this would go down - Kelley said if she stuck to the plan everything would be fine, but it was Kelley, for goodness sake. And Tobin knew anything could happen if you took advice from KO._ _

__They walked through the opening in the fence and went along the path. It was sunny for the first time in about a week, even though they were barely past Summer, and a slight breeze ruffled Christen's loose curls. Tobin suppressed a nervous grin, but let it show when Christen looked at her._ _

__"What?" Christen asked, chuckling at Tobin. They sat on the bench and Christen watched her dogs run around for a minute._ _

__"Nothing," Tobin said, pretending to turn her attention to the ball between her feet. She knew she was procrastinating, and if any of their other friends were here she'd get a hit on the shoulder for being so cowardly. _Just do it,_ she told herself. "Christen?"_ _

__"Yeah?" Christen turned to face Tobin, running a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face. _She's so pretty.__ _

__Tobin forced herself to look her friend in the eyes before inching closer. "Would you mind if I -"_ _

__Tobin's words were cut short by something that took her a moment to process. Wasn't she supposed to be the one who made the move? Hadn't _she_ planned this with Kelley for days?_ _

__Christen's lips just as soon left hers as they had found them, but Tobin wasn't willing to let them get far. She leaned in and kissed her back, tilting her head slightly to the side to get a better angle. Christen pulled back hesitantly and then giggled. "Not at all," Christen murmured with a shaky breath._ _

__"You beat me to it," Tobin complained softly, leaning closer, and was about to kiss her again when they heard a shout from down the field. Tobin eyed the figure crossing the grass towards them, whose arms were raised frantically. _Kelley._ Then Tobin jumped as a pair of hands clamped down on her shoulders from behind._ _

__"YEEEESSSSSSSSS!" Kelley screamed. Tobin turned to see Allie and Alex standing by the bench. She knew Kelley was going to be around somewhere, but not the others. She grinned even wider._ _

__Allie laughed and pointed to Kelley, who had been bowled over by Morena and Khaleesi and was now sprawled on the grass, being licked by the two dogs. Kelley managed to scramble to her feet and run over to the others on the bench, but the dogs stayed close in tow._ _

__Tobin looked at Christen, who laughed at their friends with a deep blush on her cheeks. "Are you serious?"_ _

__"Wouldn't miss this for the world, Pressy!" Kelley pointed at them both with her other hand on her hip. "You know how long I've waited?"_ _

__"Shut up, Kell," Tobin said. She saw the ball Allie was holding and snatched it out of the blonde's hands before she could react, running out onto the field._ _

__"Oh, I see how it is!" she heard Kelley shout. Tobin stopped to turn around and found Kelley there, trying to get the ball off her. Tobin teased Kelley, nudging and stopping the ball around the other girl's feet before passing to Christen who was a couple of metres behind Kelley._ _

__"Keepings-Off Kelley!" Alex yelled when she received it from Christen. Kelley whined but still made an effort to capture the ball. It went around to Allie, then back to Christen, who kicked it to Tobin again. Kelley anticipated the move and was already going for Tobin, who ran out of luck this time. Kelley toed the ball away from Tobin and laughed smugly._ _

__Kelley trotted away with it, chased by Alex and Allie. Christen was about to run after them but was pulled back by Tobin, who wrapped her arms around her waist. Truth be told Tobin didn't really know what she was doing, but it didn't stop her from kissing the girl again._ _

__* * *  
**CHRISTEN**_ _

__"Hey there," Christen said, putting her hands on the midfielder's shoulders from behind. "You know it's lunchtime, yeah?"_ _

__"Yeah, yeah, I just - have a lot of work to do. Three homework things and a project," Tobin answered. Christen thought this was the first time she had ever seen Tobin so tense over _schoolwork._ It was weird._ _

__"Since when do you care about work?" she wondered, looking up at Tobin when she turned around and closed her locker, a pile of books in her arms._ _

__"Since -" Tobin paused to shift the weight of her stuff - "my mom said I had to do better to keep playing."_ _

__"Oh," Christen said, tilting her head pitifully. "Well, we can't have that. Can I help?"_ _

__"You don't have to, Chris, that's -"_ _

__"I'm helping. Especially if..." Christen peered at Tobin's book selections. "...you have an English assignment."_ _

__* * *_ _

__"That 'its' doesn't need at apostrophe."_ _

__"How do you remember all of them? I can barely remember which 'which' is which!" Tobin whinged. Christen laughed softly._ _

__"I guess it comes easy to some." Christen shifted position in the chair. The library was warm and there were a lot of people in it, but they were able to obtain a large armchair in the corner of the sitting area and it was just big enough for the both of them, Christen's thigh pressed against the other girl's. "Tobin?"_ _

__"Yeah?" Tobin looked at Christen, closing her English book._ _

__"You know..." Christen began hesitantly, "I like you. You like me, right?"_ _

__Tobin smiles gently. "Of course."_ _

__"Well... then... would you... be my girlfriend?" Christen cringed internally, immediately beginning to regret it._ _

__Tobin just raised an eyebrow and then looked at Christen seriously. "Lemme think about it."_ _

__"Oh -" Christen started, her cheeks heating up. Tobin cut her off._ _

__"I'm joking. Yes."_ _

__"Wha - yes?" Christen's eyes grew wide as Tobin grabbed her hand._ _

__"Yes, I will be your girlfriend," Tobin chuckled._ _

__"Really?" Christen couldn't control the grin that spread itself across her face. Tobin mirrored it, and leaned closer._ _

__"Yeah," Tobin muttered._ _

__"Good."_ _

__"Did you think I would say no to that?"_ _

__"...Maybe."_ _

__"Are you kidding?"_ _

__Christen let out an amused sigh before pecking Tobin on the lips. Then she looked around Tobin to the bookcase. "Did you hear that?"_ _

__"What?" Tobin followed Christen's gaze._ _

__Christen got up and walked around to look behind the shelves. "Alex!"_ _

__Alex, along with Kelley, shrieked and looked up from her phone. "Shit!" Alex cried._ _

__"Were you taking photos?!" Christen grabbed for Alex's phone but Alex yanked it away._ _

__"You two are too cute not to!" Alex begged._ _

__"Let me see!" Christen demanded. Kelley just stood in the corner, laughing her head off. Christen tried to look at Alex's screen, but Alex pulled it away again._ _

__"No!"_ _

__"What's going on?" Tobin appeared at the end of the aisle. She cocked her head, a smile playing on her lips._ _

__"Alex was taking pictures of us!" Christen exclaimed._ _

__"You can't blame me!" Alex turned to Kelley and showed Kelley the pictures. "Are these not _the_ most adorable thing you've ever seen?"_ _

__"She's right, Press." Kelley's laughter simmered down to a chuckle._ _

__"You're not gonna post 'em, are you?" Tobin asked firmly, throwing an arm around Christen's._ _

__She must have given them a look, because they slumped their shoulders guiltily. "No, ma'am," Kelley said, disappointed._ _

__* * *  
**TOBIN**_ _

__"So, Tobe, you had any thoughts on you-know-what?"_ _

__Tobin was just trying to get to class but already two of her friends had come up to her. "If you keep asking, you got no chance of going."_ _

__"Okay, okay!" Kelley put her hands up in defense._ _

__"Where are your books?" Tobin asked._ _

__"Where I'm going, we don't need books."_ _

__"Did you really just reference _Back to the Future?_ "_ _

__"At least you understood it this time." Kelley was right; most movies she referenced, Tobin had never heard of. "I'm wagging."_ _

__"Wagging?"_ _

__Kelley sighed. Apparently Tobin wasn't up-to-date on the latest slang the kids used these days. "Playing hooky."_ _

__"By yourself?" Tobin almost laughed. When Kelley played hooky, she almost always got caught and every time, she brought someone else down with her._ _

__"No..."_ _

__"With who then?"_ _

__Kelley looked straight ahead. Tobin could see the red rising from her neck to her cheeks. She stopped walking. "Ah."_ _

__"What, 'Ah'?"_ _

__"'Ah', you're going with Solo." Tobin elbowed Kelley and she elbowed back harder._ _

__"Who said -"_ _

__"Kell, I've known you for, what, nine years?" Tobin stated. "I can tell. You go all red and nervous and act like an actual gentleman around her. It's kinda obvious. I'm pretty sure they all know."_ _

__Kelley just looked at the floor. "Do you think _she_ knows?"_ _

__"Hope? I don't know." Tobin shrugged. "Do you want her to know?"_ _

__"I... I don't know," Kelley mumbled._ _

__"Well, if you decide you do, tell me. I'm gonna be _your_ wingwoman this time!" Tobin rocked on her feet excitedly. Her arms were getting tired from the books she was carrying. "I better go."_ _

__"Okay!" Kelley called as Tobin started walking. "Have fun in science with your _giiiiirlfriend_!"_ _

Tobin laughed, her chest swelling. _How could I have a girlfriend?_ she thought, amazed at the prospect. Then she marvelled at the thought, _Christen Annemarie Press is my girlfriend!_

__* * *_ _

____**Kelley:** TOBIN  
**Kelley:** guess what  
**You:** what?? 

__Tobin glanced up to check for the teacher as she waited for Kelley to answer. She held her phone just below desk level so the teacher couldn't see it._ _

____**Kelley:** :)))))))  
**You:** what is it Kell  
**Kelley:** hope hugged me!! 

__Tobin smiled widely and sent her friend congratulations and that she knew something had to happen. It was Kelley O'Hara, after all - and with her crush, no less. As much of an ass Kelley could be, she had charm Tobin admired._ _

__Just then Tobin's phone lit up again, and this time it was Christen, video-calling. Tobin remembered Christen telling her she had a family gathering after school for a birthday. "Hey Chris. How's it going?"_ _

__"Hey." Christen smiled at Tobin through FaceTime and Tobin smiled in turn. Truly, though, Tobin could tell Christen was trying to hold herself together since this was a reminder of her grandfather's death a couple of years back. That was a thing she always did - she was always too scared to show her emotions or even that anything was remotely troubling her. "It's been okay," Christen said nonchalantly._ _

__"Are you sure? Want me to come over?"_ _

__"Oh, no, at least not yet. I've still got family here," Christen waved a hand at Tobin's offer. "Maybe later?"_ _

__"Okay."_ _

__"Tobin?" Christen's face turned slightly dark._ _

__"Yeah?"_ _

__"I know..." Christen cleared her throat. "I know it's not really decent of me to keep you hidden from my family -"_ _

__"Chris, it's fine. You're not ready, and that's okay." Tobin offered a small sympathetic smile. "To be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready either. You know, the whole _devoted to the bible_ thing."_ _

__"Yeah, okay," Christen giggled softly. Then she glanced away for a second, listening. "My dad's calling for me. I'll call you back later, though."_ _

__"Okay," Tobin said. The green in Christen's eyes was accentuated by the light in her bedroom. Tobin thought they were two of the prettiest things she had seen. "See ya."_ _

__"Bye!" Christen ended the call. Tobin sat up and flattened her hair, which was in a ponytail but messed up from lying on her bed. She only got up to turn on the stereo on her desk and hook up her phone. She scrolled through all her unorganised playlists to one labelled "christen annemarie" and put it on shuffle. Tobin still snorted in amusement at herself for being so cheesy as to make her girlfriend a Spotify playlist, and she hadn't shown it to Christen yet, feeling that it would probably elicit a similar reaction from her, but Christen would be too kind to show it._ _

__* * *_ _

__Tobin had missed playing. She longed to feel the air rush over her skin and through her hair as she sprinted down the field. She loved having such a special connection with her teammates, the likes of which, she was sure, no one had ever had. She even missed the sore tightness of her muscles the day after. But now it was practice time, and she was finally gearing up._ _

__Christen sat in front of her on the bench by the field tying her shoes as Tobin tried to gather all of her girlfriend's hair into a ponytail. She was eventually able to wrestle the dark curls into submission, though the wind was no help. Tobin found it annoying that it was so windy, but at least it was blowing across the field instead of down the field length-ways. She met the team in the middle of the field._ _

__"Ms Ellis?" Kelley murmured from beside Tobin. "What the fuck -"_ _

__"Alright, alright!" Ellis got the team's attention, raising an arm for quiet. "I know it's weird to see me here instead of Coach Sermanni, but I _am_ a sports teacher too, I assure you."_ _

__Allie muttered something like 'yeah-fucking-right' from the other side of Kelley, which Tobin laughed at quietly. Ellis continued, "Mr Sermanni is taking long-service leave to take care of his wife, who is pregnant!"_ _

__Practically the whole team gasped with joy for their coach. Tobin only hoped they wouldn't be stuck with Ellis for too long. Ellis took them through a bunch of easy drills and said they would do the beep test next week. They finished with a practice game which saw Tobin get distracted (by Christen who was on the other side making faces at her) and have the ball simply knocked away by Alex, who then scored through the temporarily-set-up poles, teasing Tobin in the process._ _

__Kelley jogged by her, coughing and muttering 'Whipped!' as she passed. Tobin shouted, "Hey!" and chases after her friend._ _

After practice, Pinoe suggested they all catch a movie. Allie and Hope had to pull out because they were busy (and both Tobin and Christen don't fail to catch the look of disappointment on Kelley's face) but the other five of them went along. They saw _Wonder Woman_ , sitting in the back of the cinema, Tobin between Kelley and Christen. Kelley kept demanding to hold the packet of M&M's Tobin bought from the kiosk - "No, you'll eat them all!" 

__"Who says?" Kelley argued defensively, crossing her arms._ _

__"You've already eaten like half." Tobin turned to the rest of the group. "If Kelley should hold the M &M's say I."_ _

__The group was silent. Kelley sulked and slid down her seat, her face buried in her sweatshirt. Tobin patted her shoulder and held out a handful of M &M's which she took begrudgingly. "Thanks, _Mom_."_ _

__Tobin sighed at Kelley's antics and got comfortable in her chair as the film started. She thought as the movie progressed, _I didn't think I could get any gayer._ She was wrong. She hated watching the scenes between Steve and Diana and may have been slightly too happy when Steve blew up the plane. She found the fight between Diana and Ares a little (no, a lot) cheesy, and by the end all the girls were critiquing the film and busting for the bathroom._ _

They walked all the way to the bus stop afterwards, all five of them linked by their arms to each other. Kelley took a selfie of them and said she'd post it later, but Tobin thought after all the sugar she had she was starting to crash. The freckled girl kept dozing on their way home, and Alex had to walk her to her house when they got off the bus. Pinoe eventually hopped off the bus too, and it was just Tobin and Christen. Tobin had one more stop to go, while Christen had two, and they spent the time with Christen's head resting on Tobin's shoulder. Tobin listened to the even and relaxed breaths emitting from Christen for as long as she could.

* * *  
**CHRISTEN**

Christen learned to get used to Ellis's slightly different (and worse) way of coaching, but she didn't like it. Ellis decided that the team should 'try new things', resulting in Kelley being put in midfield sometimes, Tobin being switched to right-back at one point, and Christen benched for the majority of every game, among other bizarre switch-ups. Not one of the players liked Ms Ellis's arrangements, and it seemed like Ms Ellis would prefer not having to be their coach, either. 

The first two games they played saw them losing by one point. Christen suggested to her friends that they enhance their weekend training sessions, so they all started going to the park from mid-morning to mid-afternoon and most times they actually got a lot of practice in. Christen found that she has a lot of in-game chemistry with Allie, which meant they got to bond over the few assists Allie gave Christen when they played at the same time. 

Now Christen sat by herself at the edge of the field. For the sake of her various school assignments she kicked herself for not missing this practice, but playing soccer always took her mind off of everything else better than anything she tried. Today the sky was grey, the park was almost deserted, and Christen loved inhaling the fresh scent of the cut grass on the field in front of her. She crossed her legs and waited patiently on the bench, resting a hand on the ball she brought along. Then, without warning, the clouds erupted into rain. Christen let out a deep groan and began trudging across the field towards her house again, the ball sliding along the ground at her feet. 

The raindrops pelted harder, hitting Christen's face, catching on her lips and running off her nose. She didn't mind the rain, but training was A) good for her skills, B) fun and C) a good method of procrastination from doing schoolwork. Then, when she thought things couldn't get worse, when she opened the front door Khaleesi zoomed out into the yard and into the rain. Christen ran inside to quickly grab two towels, one to wrap around herself and one to dry the now sopping wet dog who waited at the door to be let in again. 

Christen walked Khaleesi around to the back of the house and under the porch to dry her off. Morena trotted up to them and Christen scratched the older dog on her head briefly before hurrying inside to change, the dogs following eagerly after her. 

Christen started sniffing later that day, and when her parents came home from an exhibition they went to see, her mother found her curled around a hot water bottle on her bed staring sleepily at her phone. "Don't tell me you got caught in the rain," Stacy said, her hands on her hips as she glared down at Christen, who just glanced at her and groaned hoarsely. Stacy returned with a cup of tea and honey and some tablets and shut the door when she left again. 

_*** * *** _

**Tobin:** hello  
**Tobin:** christennnn  
**Tobin:** my loooove  
**Tobin:** babyyyyyy  
**Tobin:** are you okay???  
**Tobin:** christen? 

\- is what Christen woke up to that evening. She smiled at Tobin's concern. 

**You:** hi sorry i was asleep  
**You:** i got caught in the rain before and now i'm sick  
**Tobin:** can i come over?  
**You:** you want to get sick?  
**Tobin:** no i want to make u feel better  
**Tobin:** i will bring u food

* * *

_MARCH_

"I have made a decision!"

The whole group turned its attention to Tobin who slid into her seat at the table outside. "The person coming to Florida is..."

For once during the whole ordeal of waiting for Tobin to make up her mind, the whole table was quiet. Tobin smiled cunningly. "... Christen!" 

Christen giggled at Tobin. Kelley shouted, "Biased as fuck!" 

Tobin threw an arm around Christen's shoulders. The rest of the group smiled and pretended to act disgusted at the couple, but Christen couldn't help but think this wasn't the best decision. 

_*** * *** _

"I just think you should bring one of them instead, Tobe. You spend way more time with me than them now." 

Tobin scratched her chin contemplatively, smirking timidly. "I thought it would be romantic." 

"It would be, for sure," Christen rushed, "but it might seem to Kelley and Allie that you're... being a bit neglectful."

"Mmm..." Tobin hummed in agreement, lost in thought. "Maybe you're right." 

"Yeah?" Christen brought her knees to her chest. She was sitting on her bed FaceTiming Tobin later that night. Christen had noticed Tobin's old friends acting just a little too bitter over their constant desire to hang out with each other. 

"Which one though?" Tobin wondered. "I can't really take one of them without making the other jealous. That's one of the other reasons I chose you." 

"Well... I think Kelley's better friends with everyone else in the group and I'm pretty sure her chances with Hope would be better if she didn't leave for... how long is it?" 

"Three weeks." 

"Yeah, so I'd say take Allie. The problem is... how to tell them." 

Tobin considered this for a moment before suggesting, "I just say you couldn't go and that Allie was my second choice. There's gonna be some amount of hard feelings anyway..." 

"Yeah," Christen said. They said goodbye for the night, as it was already past eleven, and Christen snuggled down into the covers. 

* * *  
_MAY_

Christen and Kelley stood outside Tobin's house. Christen was trying not to let any part of her body make contact with any other part on the ridiculously hot Spring day. Tobin and Allie were hauling their luggage into the trunk of the Uber van. And Kelley? Kelley was just whining about the heat and being jokingly salty about not going to Florida. 

Kelley had been unexpectedly fine with Allie being chosen. She actually seemed relieved. She had told Christen a while ago that she didn't mind not going because - proving Christen's point - she thought Hope was flirting with her. Tobin had told just Kelley and Allie after their FaceTime conversation that something came up and Christen couldn't go on the trip, and that she had chosen Allie instead. Then Christen vowed to Kelley that she would get Hope to go out with her by the time Tobin and Allie returned. 

"Well, uh, I guess this is it," Tobin said with a shrug. Christen chuckled and hugged Tobin, taking in the scent of her girlfriend. There were warm embraces all around, even from Tobin's family. 

"Have fun!" Christen exclaimed through the car window after they had climbed in. 

"And bring me back a souvenir!" Kelley added. Christen crossed her arms and looked at her, so she said, "...and Christen! Get her one too!" 

"Sure thing, Kell," Tobin laughed. Tobin planted a subtle kiss on Christen's hand with a smirk before saying a last goodbye, and then Christen and Kelley watched the car grow smaller from the front of the Heath house on the quiet Spring afternoon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked it :)

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked it, subscribe :) and keep an eye out for the next chapter!


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